Davis tells Gonzaga grads to take risks, ‘embrace discomfort’

Dr. Cornelia “Connie” Davis had a “safe path ahead” in clinical medicine after finishing her residency in pediatrics.

Instead, the 1967 Gonzaga University graduate “stepped into the unknown” and accepted an invitation from the World Health Organization in the mid-1970s to move to India. Two years later, she and her team eradicated smallpox in the Asian country, which Davis called “one of the proudest moments of my life.”

“I had planned to focus on clinical medicine, but India opened my eyes to something bigger – the power of public health to transform entire communities,” Davis said. “I never looked back.”

Davis implored Gonzaga graduate students to “believe in your potential,” “view risks as opportunities for growth” and “embrace discomfort as the catalyst for change” – three lessons that shaped her career – Saturday at the 132nd Gonzaga Graduate Commencement at the McCarthey Athletic Center .

She said she had never been to India, didn’t know the language, knew little about smallpox and was entering a country where “a woman’s place was in the home.”

“I didn’t go to India because I was ready,” she said. “I went because I was willing to grow into readiness and that willingness made all the difference.”

Her two years in India were some of the toughest she faced.

“The conditions were difficult, the work was exhausting and the challenges were endless,” she said. “But through that discomfort, I found purpose.”

Several years after smallpox eradication in India, Davis was selected to be the U.S. Agency for International Development’s chief of health, population and nutrition in Pakistan. She wanted to introduce a community health worker program with male and female workers. She expected resistance because Pakistan had grown more conservative, she said, so she thought a meeting with the elders, who were all men, might help.

“I was told they would never listen to a woman, but I went anyway and to my surprise, they made me an honorary male so I could speak,” said Davis, to the laughter of the graduates and graduation attendees. “Not only did they listen, I convinced them and the program moved forward.”

Davis asked graduates to imagine a future where they say “yes” to opportunities, take bold risks and lean into discomfort.

“You’ll look back and see that those moments of courage and resilience became the foundation of your greatest achievements,” she said. “You have the power to shape that future starting today.”

She challenged graduates in the next week to identify a bold step that will move them forward in their career, improve their leadership or change the world.

“Make that decision, send the email, just do it,” Davis said. “Say ‘yes’ to the challenge that both excites and terrifies you because the world doesn’t just need graduates with degrees. It needs leaders with courage. It needs you. Embrace challenges as opportunities. View uncertainties as adventure and let your passion illuminate the path forward.”