Photo: Faith Ninivaggi
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The 225 medical students in the T.H. Chan School of Medicine Class of 2030 marked a rite of passage on Sept. 11, lining up backstage at the Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts before walking across the stage and receiving white coats from loved ones and mentors. The White Coat Ceremony symbolizes first-year medical students’ entry into the medical field as they are cloaked in pristine coats, gifted by UMass Chan Medical School’s newly minted physicians from the Class of 2026.
The class includes a record 32 students in the Population-based Urban and Rural Community Health (PURCH) regional campus track based primarily at the UMass Chan-Baystate campus in Springfield.
“Healthcare is a right, not a privilege,” said Kallie Poon, a PURCH student from Sandwich who was inspired to practice medicine by her mother and father, internal medicine physicians who met at Baystate Medical Center. “As a physician, I hope to show up for my community and provide care, compassion and advocacy. I hope the white coat will remind me how far I’ve come and how much good work I still must do.”
Chancellor David McManus, MD’02, ScM’12, MBA, providing welcoming remarks for his first White Coat Ceremony as chancellor, described the excitement and pride he felt when he put on his UMass Chan white coat for the first time.
“At that moment, I was laser-focused on the future ahead of me–What specialty would I choose? Where would I practice? How long until I spill soup on this perfectly white coat? On this occasion, you take an important step toward joining the most rewarding profession in the world,” Chancellor McManus said.
“Both the coat itself and the oath are signs of very deep commitment,” said Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Elisabeth Chair for the Dean of Medicine, executive deputy chancellor, provost and dean of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine. “The specific meaning of the white coat has been described various different ways, but in its simplest form, it is a statement by you to your patient: ‘You can trust me.’”
Photo: Faith Ninivaggi
First-year medical student Sriya Dhanikonda of Long Island, New York, said, “The white coat represents a journey made possible by my parents, who have walked across more bridges, oceans and obstacles than I can count.” Dhanikonda studied biomedical engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “As an engineer, I struggled to connect my passion for mathematics, physics and innovation with my desire to make a tangible impact on people's lives. The white coat is a bridge connecting my past to my future, science to humanity and innovation to impact,” Dhanikonda said.
Paul Roessling, MBS, MPH, a medical student from Salisbury, New Hampshire, said that surgery on a cyst in his spinal cord inspired him to pursue medicine.
“I learned a lot about the importance of mental health during physical recovery. I fell in love with medicine while working in a psychiatric unit and decided that whatever specialty of medicine I pursue will be centered around restoring people's ability to navigate life with maximum agency,” said Roessling, a student in the LEAD@Lahey track, UMass Chan’s leadership-focused regional campus track centered in Burlington.
Photo: Faith Ninivaggi
The Class of 2030 ranges in age from 21 to 36, speaks 55 languages and has collectively completed 923,167 research and clinical hours. All physicians in attendance joined the class in reciting the Oath of Maimonides, led by Ellen Delpapa, MD, professor emeritus of obstetrics & gynecology and the 2025 recipient of the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Excellence.
