Class of 2022 White Coat Ceremony on July 27

More than 100 new medical students will receive and don their first white coats this week at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson White Coat Ceremony. The event, held to honor the college’s latest class of medical students, will take place at 5 p.m. Friday, July 27, in Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd.

The White Coat Ceremony, a traditional rite of passage for entering medical students, signifies a student’s acceptance into medical school and his or her commitment to humanism in medicine. After being robed with their first coats, students will recite an oath acknowledging their dedication to patient care.

Alok Patel, MD, a member of the UA College of Medicine – Tucson’s Class of 2012, will deliver this year’s keynote address. Dr. Patel is a nationally recognized pediatrician who has assisted with health communication at ABC News, CNN and Medscape.

Following are a few of the impressive students that make up the Class of 2022:

Audrey Adkinsis a 15-year emergency medical services veteran who served as an EMT and critical care flight paramedic. The native Tucsonan also is a single mother who sculpts, welds and blows glass.

David J. Haddadis a first-generation college student who grew up in rural Mayer, Ariz. Once he becomes a physician, Haddad will seek to address community health issues affecting rural communities.

Justin B. Kayeis a Navajo student who earned the 2017 National Congress of American Indians Graduate Health Fellowship. Navajo healing ceremonies performed by his uncle and cousin attracted Kaye to medicine.

 Vignesh S. Krishnaswamy is a former White House intern who worked on the Domestic Policy Council Health team and met President Barack Obama in 2015. The Mesa, Ariz., native aims to create an equitable health-care system as a physician.

Jacob Sorensonis a Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholar from Mesa, Ariz., who grew interested in global medicine after serving as a church services missionary in Mozambique for two years.

Maria Williamsis passionate about serving vulnerable populations and increasing the representation of female surgeons. Surgery saved her life after a snowboarding accident as a teenager. Williams is from the Pacific Northwest.

Laura Wylieis a Cottonwood, Ariz., native who was inspired to go into medicine by her father, a doctor and UA College of Medicine – Tucson alumnus, and her mother, a registered nurse. Wylie graduated from the UA with a bachelor’s degree in physiology.

 About the Class of 2022:

• Applications received: 9,530
• Class Size: 124
• Female students: 66
• Male students: 58
• Underrepresented minorities in medicine: 42
• Age range: 21 – 35
• Arizona residents: 92
• Average GPA: 3.68
• UA alumni: 54