M.D. White Coat Ceremony 2024
A legacy in the making
John W. Traubert White Coat Ceremony
The White Coat Ceremony was developed by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation of New York, and was initiated for the entering class of the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University on August 20, 1993. The original concept was to clarify for students, prior to their entrance into the medical community, that a physician’s responsibility is twofold; to take care of patients and to care for patients. This ceremony has since been established at nearly all the nation’s medical schools, with various adaptations.
At WVU, our first ceremony, held on January 26, 1996, deferred from the original concept. It honored second-year students and marked the transition from the basic sciences to clinical sciences, from reading about illness and disease to diagnosing it; from learning about treatments to prescribing them.
However, with changes in medical education, that transition point is becoming less defined. Patient contact coming early on in training, meshing with the obvious importance and relevance of the basic sciences, broadens the concept of WVU’s ceremony and more clearly defines its purpose.
In 1999, upon retirement of Dean of Students, John W. Traubert, the ceremony was named in his honor.
Saturday, March 9, 2024
Keynote Speaker
Kelly Gannon, M.D.
Medicine
Class of 2026
The following medical students earned their white coats this year.
- Thomas Aldridge
- Biff Alexander
- Sahaja Ampolu
- Armen Anthony Aprahamian
- Jonathan Tucker Bennett
- Trey Bennett
- Jeffrey Beyon
- Kayce Marie Boggess
- Alyssa Brashear
- Rebecca Ann Byrd
- Brianna Caison
- Aryn Blake Carpenter
- Alexis Rae Chandler
- Alexander Chervenick
- Rylee Childers
- Jocelyn Coholich
- Michelle Marie Coleman
- Dominic Coutinho
- Abigail Cowher
- Nicholas Connor Coyne
- Nina D'Andrea
- Julia Deziel
- Thaiddeus Dillie
- Brockton Dowling
- Tyler Drummond
- Mitchell Dubaniewicz
- Bradford Dugan
- Cody Dunham
- Zachary Ecker
- Jacob Engel
- Isadora Fan
- Matthew Frownfelter
- Fallon Brooke Gallimore
- Elizabeth Gasteiger
- Kate Gelman
- Kathryn Janette Gerbo
- Alessandra Moise Gest
- Charles Gish
- Andrew Gordon
- Gabriella Grillo
- Michael Grimm
- Liza Grossman
- Hayley Harman
- Kaitlyn Hayes
- Kaitlyn Elisabeth Heintzelman
- Tatiana Irene Henriksson
- Andrea Hincapie Bendeck
- George Holmes
- Connor Hunt
- Aaron Joseph
- Torren Kalaskey
- Ivy Kaznoski
- Jacob King
- Kyle Knutsen
- John Komas
- Eric Kraus
- Erica Elizabeth Larijani
- Kendall Marion Leek
- Nathaniel Luketich
- John Lyon
- Lee Madruga
- Grace Maley
- Roushini Manjunath
- Christina Panagiota Markopoulos
- Aryon Marshall
- William Martin
- Laura May
- Vincent Kanaka-Ikaika Melemai
- Joseph Melott
- Benjamin Mendelson
- Michael Isaiah Morgan
- Christina Mounzer
- Patrick Daniel Nahhas
- Carly O'Sullivan
- Charles Panzarella
- Lauren Parsons
- Joshua Peterson
- Austin Phimmasone
- Brandt Potas
- Molly Powney
- Kierstan Noel Pyle
- Leah Rebarber
- Alexandra Richmond
- Kaia Jade Richmond
- Abigail Roop
- Cameron Rose
- Matthew Rosolen
- Jessica Rychel
- Joseph Schmidlen
- Anna Schuster
- Reagan Sharp
- Iman Nihsa Shere
- Benjamin Shertzer
- Emma Michaela Shychuck
- Inaiyat Sidhu
- Elizabeth Steele
- Andrew Sulistio
- Wendy Tan
- Daniel Enrique Teran
- Obadah Tolaymat
- Seth Tyson
- Gurleen Vilkhu
- Michael Watcher
- Samantha Weaver
- Barbara Wehle
- Lakin Wellman
- Justin Williams
- Mark Yazhari
- Anna Zukowski
Scenes from the day
View photo galleries from the event: University Relations photos and Student Services photos.
Michelle Coleman
M.D. Degree
“Throughout my time here at WVU I have had wonderful guides and champions in my corner that I have been able to work with to define my interests.”
Andrew Gordon
M.D. Degree
“WVU has prepared me to be a clinician by showing me how to tailor my thought process to each patient that comes in. With preventative and lifestyle care especially, you need to look at each patient who comes in through a different lens and let them tell their story.”
Anna Zukowski
M.D. Degree
“The sense of community and involvement of everyone here is incredible. It’s so focused on giving opportunities to the people of this state and advancing access to care.”
Explore More
Learn more about our M.D. White Coat Tradition
CEREMONY HISTORY
WVU’s White Coat Ceremony, strategically positioned in the second year of training, is designed to:
- help students reaffirm their reasons for choosing medicine as their lives’ work
- allow students to express their commitment to becoming technically excellent and professionally compassionate with patients
- reinforce the importance of the doctor-patient relationship and the relevance of the white coat as a “cloak of compassion”
BACKGROUND
- August 20, 1993 -- The White Coat Ceremony was developed by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation of New York, and was initiated for the entering class of the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University. The original concept was to clarify for students, prior to their entrance into the medical community, that a physician’s responsibility is twofold; to take care of patients and to care for patients.
- January 26, 1996 -- WVU's first ceremony was held, and it deferred from the original concept. It honored second-year students and marked the transition from the basic sciences to clinical sciences, from reading about illness and disease to diagnosing it; from learning about treatments to prescribing them. However, with changes in medical education, that transition point is becoming less defined. Patient contact coming early on in training, meshing with the obvious importance and relevance of the basic sciences, broadens the concept of WVU’s ceremony and more clearly defines its purpose.
- 1999 -- upon retirement of Dean of Students, John W. Traubert, the ceremony was named in his honor.
GET INVOLVED -- SPONSOR A STUDENT
Our School of Medicine MD alumni and current faculty have a unique opportunity to directly affect and leave a positive, lasting impression on a future physician. By sponsoring a white coat, you can leave a note of encouragement and impart valuable wisdom that the students can take into the clinic with them as they begin caring for patients.
The ceremony is also sponsored in part by WVU Medicine.
Alumni and faculty can visit the WVU Foundation site below and complete your information online. In the "comments" box, you can write the content of the note you wish to give the student.
QUESTIONS?
Contact the WVU School of Medicine Alumni Office at (304) 293-5110.
