UM pharmacy students take the Pledge of Professionalism at the School of Pharmacy’s annual White Coat Ceremony Aug. 10 in the Ford Center. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications
OXFORD, Miss. – For 115 first-year pharmacy students, the school year unofficially began Thursday (Aug. 10) at the White Coat Ceremony, where each received his or her white coat, a symbol of professionalism.
The annual event is an opportunity to formally impart the seriousness of a pharmacist’s responsibility to new pharmacy students. The students will wear their white coats to classes, assemblies and rotations throughout their four years in pharmacy school, demonstrating to themselves and to the public their professional commitment.
“The White Coat Ceremony provides an origination point for student pharmacists as they begin to see how their practice will impact their patients,” said David Gregory, associate dean for academic affairs at the School of Pharmacy. “Patients must always be at the forefront of our decisions as pharmacists.”
Many family members and friends attended the event at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Donna Strum, associate provost for academic affairs and professor of pharmacy administration, provided comments on behalf of the university.
“I ask you now to make a personal pledge to use your knowledge, your strength, your caring and your compassion to do all that you can to be worthy of the trust that your patients will place in you,” Strum said during the ceremony.
David D. Allen, dean of the UM School of Pharmacy, helps a student with his white coat during the annual ceremony Aug. 10 at the Ford Center. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications
Before receiving their coats, each student signed the Pledge of Professionalism that binds them to the responsibilities of a pharmacist. The document will be framed and hung in the pharmacy school.
“We are extremely proud of these students for completing their pre-pharmacy curriculum with such success, and we look forward to seeing their accomplishments in the professional program,” said David D. Allen, Ole Miss pharmacy dean. “The class of 2021 is exceptionally talented, and it’s a privilege for all of us in the School of Pharmacy to begin working with them on their journey toward becoming practicing pharmacists.”
Mississippi students in this year’s class of first professional year students are: Zachary Ryan Lawrence of Ackerman; Bailey Estes Boyd of Amory; Shannon Marie Buehler of Bay St. Louis; Lien Thi Kim Phan of Belden; Drew Ryan Boudreaux and Brennan Cole Hilton, both of Biloxi; Coy Austin Fitts of Blue Springs; Peyton Sara Elizabeth Black, Simone ElisabethAnna Black and Shandra Nichole Bouzemann, all of Brandon; Taylor Hayes of Caledonia; Hoa Van Pham of Clinton; Tori Clearman and Jonathan Newbaker, both of Collinsville; Jerrod Paul Bradley, Anna Kathryn Weathers and Leah Nicole Wilson, all of Columbus; Bradley Nathaniel Hastings and Brandon Nhek, both of Corinth; Jonathan Christian Wiggins of DeKalb; Sophia Marie Beddoe of Diamondhead; Jessie Bates of Falkner; Connor Hays Ainsworth of Florence; Miriah B. White of Flowood; Lindsay Leann Hedge of Forest; Katelyn Nicole Miller of Glen; Erin Alyssa Pounds of Golden; Kimberly Paige Porter of Grenada; Fenil Patel and Morgan Marie Woodard, both of Hattiesburg; Kristen Leigh Black of Houston; William Jackson Haines of Iuka; Stella Abiola Kelvyn-Olowola and Sydney Hamilton Watson, both of Jackson; Emily N. Wright of Laurel; Jonathan Michael McAdory of Louisville; Jonathan Gaston Box and William Alan Haygood, both of Madison; Abigail Rose Pearman, Logan Rae Satterfield, Christopher Lamar Waldron and Lelia Claire Calcote, all of Meridian; Krista M. Clifton and Shelby Diane Miller, both of Mooreville; Alicyn Gail Pyles of Moorhead; Bradley Howard of Moss Point; Anna Lee Warren of Mount Olive; Katelyn McKenzie Brown, Zachary Paul Myers and Alexis Taylor Rountree, all of Ocean Springs; Nathan Robert Allen of Olive Branch; Ashten Michelle Carter Anderson, Skylar Britt, My’Andra Brown, Emily Paige Cork, Niasha Naomi Davis, Rachell Denney, George Walton Ewing IV, Sean Harrison, Mary Clara Hayes, Kristen Leigh Hollingsworth, Billy Charles Huff III, Savannah Brooke Jackson, Jennah Lee, Sara Elizabeth Magyar, Morgan Mallette, Katelyn Victoria Mitchell, Lam Anh Nguyen, Hannah Jane Osowski, Madison Parker, Mary Kathryn Pearson, Laura Vaughn Phipps, Taylor Paige Richardson, William Joshua Stepp, Mary Paige Thrash, Jontae Deion Warren, Catherine Grace Wilson Jacob Ryan Smith, all of Oxford; William Luke Pannell of Pontotoc; Natasha Marie Lewis of Port Gibson; Gabrielle D. Arceo, Alex Brooks, Michelle R.A. de Almeida and Valerie Nicole Tatum, all of Ridgeland; Hoby Brice Mullins of Roxie; Taylor Paige Adcock of Sallis; William Berry Waters of Saucier; Ashley Nicole Foster and Lauren Bailey McPhail, both of Southaven; Kristen Adare Phipps of Taylorsville; Jeremy S. Ross of Tillatoba; Cassidy Lane Barnett, Carlos Logan Magana and Drake Wilson, all of Tupelo; Amber Madison Forsman of Vancleave; Zarah I. Drake of Vicksburg; and Danny Yang of Winona.
Out-of-state students in this year’s class of first professional year students are: Demetra Alexis Leara of Birmingham, Alabama; Sydney Rebecca Harrison of Clinton, Kentucky; Kelsey Regan Lock of Collierville, Tennessee; Mary Katherine Martin of Dothan, Alabama; Caroline Grace Culley of Evansville, Indiana; Elizabeth Grace DeMoss of Gallatin, Tennessee; Douglas Alan Dertien of Germantown, Tennessee; Emily Christine Rusciano of Hammond, Louisiana; Miranda Catherine Craft of Jackson, Missouri; Madison Sierra Kazerooni of Kennesaw, Georgia; Dominique Annabelle Dairion of Little Rock, Arkansas; Kendall Elise Kara of Merritt Island, Florida; Christina Tran of Mobile, Alabama; Meredith Ann Rossi of Monmouth Beach, New Jersey; Barry Cullen Flannery of Muscle Shoals, Alabama; Chelsea N. Suppinger of New Carlisle, Indiana; and Maria Christine Gorla and Caroline Ann Macek, both of St. Louis, Missouri.