Milwaukee VA Medical Center

Schaefer Leber poses in his regalia outside the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Despite the clouds of the present, the future will be celebrated Thursday -- in a venue harkening back to the past.Schaefer Leber, 26, a fourth-year student at the Medical College of Wisconsin, will have his hooding ceremony Thursday morning in the historic Wadsworth Library on the Milwaukee VA Medical Center campus.

In recent years, MCW graduates have gathered in the Milwaukee Theater for the ceremony, which occurs on the eve of their graduation. But this year, the COVID-19 pandemic effectively snuffed all public gatherings.

“I figured it wasn’t going to happen,” Leber said, noting how disappointed he and his classmates were after learning the traditional ceremonies would be replaced by virtual celebrations.

“It’s frustrating, but we all understand what is going on.”

However, MCW officials told the students they could stage their own, smaller ceremonies.

It wasn’t long before a plan came together to stage Leber’s hooding in the library, built in 1891 as part of the original National Soldiers Home.

At the event, Leber will be given the hood for his graduation regalia. Doing the honors will be Milwaukee VA psychiatrist Dr. Michael McBride, whom Leber chose as his most influential mentor during his time in medical school.

Dr. Margaret Holmes, an internal medicine doctor at the Milwaukee VA and Leber’s preceptor, will also take part. Leber’s parents and wife, Alexis, will be in attendance as well.

His grandmother will watch remotely via video, and an MCW official will conduct the ceremony remotely.

“I’m really excited to have this miniature hooding ceremony,” Leber said.

W. Schaefer Leber and his wife, Alexis, will soon leave Wisconsin for his active-duty career in the Army.

Holmes and McBride said they are equally honored to be involved.

“He’s a fine young man,” Holmes said of Leber. “I’m certain about him becoming a good doctor.”

“He is one of these young people that you can’t help but like,” McBride said, describing Leber as a “natural leader.”

“He’s always positive, intelligent, caring and compassionate. He’s going to be an outstanding physician. He gives you hope during this time of pandemic.”

McBride praised the venue for the ceremony, calling it the “ideal setting. He couldn’t have picked a better place.

“I’m saddened that his class will be a part of history where they couldn’t celebrate as in the past. If we can do this one thing to recognize his accomplishments, then let’s do it.”

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A native of New Richmond, Wisconsin, Leber attended St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, and Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, where he took part in Army ROTC.

Leber has been commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, taking part in the Army’s Health Professions Scholarship Program, which is paying for his schooling.

On June 1, he will begin his residency at Madigan Army Medical Center near Tacoma, Washington, where he’ll be recommissioned as a captain.

W. Schaefer Leber got to learn more about Veterans through the Warrior Partnership, which Dr. Mike McBride helped put together. He poses here with two Vietnam Veterans -- Jim Hackbarth and Paul McCarty.

After his residency, he will join the Army for active duty for at least four years.

Leber, who calls himself a “jack of all trades,” plans to specialize in family medicine.

“I’m interested in everything,” he said. “That’s why I chose family medicine, because you can do so many things.”

The military connection -- and an interest in mental health -- is what led Leber to McBride, fostering their mentor-mentee relationship.

McBride spent eight years in the Army, being deployed four times. In 2012, he was commissioned as a U.S. Navy commander.

“He’s helped me out immensely as a role model,” Leber said of McBride. “He’s a great physician and a great person. If I ever had a question on how to approach something, he was always very helpful.”

McBride said he was “humbled” to be chosen by Leber to take part in the hooding ceremony.

“I’m going to miss Schaefer,” he said. “But it makes me feel good to be part of VA. Education is a major part of our mission.”

For his part, Leber said he is more than ready for the next phase of his life to begin.

“I’m excited to get going, to go out and help people,” he said, comparing himself and his classmates to players sitting on the bench, itching for their time on the court.

“My whole class, thousands of medical students, we’re coming in off the bench and ready to go,” he said. “We’re excited to show that we are ready to serve others.”