UC Davis School of Medicine ceremony turns into viral proposal moment

A marriage proposal at the UC Davis School of Medicine commencement ceremony is going viral.

The school held its graduation ceremony this past weekend. One of the graduates was medical student Habib Salamah.

As is custom at medical school graduations, Salamah was joined on stage by family — and by his partner, Dr. Alaa'i Alshabrawy, a 2025 medical school graduate and current UC Davis Health internal medicine resident.

After being hooded and pausing for photos, Salamah dropped to one knee and asked Alshabrawy to marry him.

In the video now seen by millions, Alshabrawy appeared genuinely surprised and nodded "yes." The couple was then applauded by the crowd of more than 1,000 people.

Salamah said Alshabrawy's father gave his blessing before the proposal.

Alshabrawy is of Egyptian background, UC Davis said, while Salamah was partly raised in Palestine.