Quinnipiac University welcomes 95 new medical students at annual White Coat Ceremony

Press release


HAMDEN, Conn. - Aug. 11, 2025 - The Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University officially welcomed 95 future physicians into the medical profession with its traditional White Coat Ceremony on Aug. 8, marking the start of their four-year journey toward becoming doctors.

Selected from a competitive pool of 9,426 applicants, the Class of 2029 represents 22 states and 59 universities, speaks 18 languages, and includes 13 students born outside the United States and 19 first-generation college graduates.

Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Admissions Dr. Steve Paik noted the cohort’s impressive credentials: a combined 45,972 hours of leadership, 78,557 hours of volunteer service, 135,251 hours of research, and more than 307,000 hours of medical and non-medical work experience.

“That’s the starting point of this cohort,” Paik said. “We’ve gotten to know you this past week, and you are better in person than anything on paper. We are impressed by your energy, engagement and positivity.”

The short white coat symbolizes a student’s entry into the medical profession, Interim Dean Dr. Lisa Coplit told the class.

“That single act is simple, but its meaning is enormous,” she said. “It signals your entry into a profession dedicated to healing, inquiry and service… While you are early in your journey, you have arrived with everything you need to become outstanding physicians.”

Keynote speaker Dr. Listy Thomas, chair of Hartford HealthCare’s St. Vincent’s Medical Center Department of Medicine and assistant dean for simulation at Quinnipiac, urged students to embrace their humanistic calling even as artificial intelligence transforms the profession.

“AI can suggest a diagnosis, but you will have to give that diagnosis meaning to the person in front of you,” Thomas said. “Nothing can replace the energy of a beating heart, and only you can look at the eyes of a scared family member and say, ‘I am here with you.’”

Fourth-year medical student Edison Tenecela reminded the class that the white coat is as much a symbol of compassion as it is of competence.

“It doesn’t necessarily make you a doctor yet, but it is a symbol that you care, that you listen, and that you’re available for patients in their most vulnerable moments,” he said.

Coplit closed by reminding students that in four years they will don long white coats as practicing physicians.

“Until then, let the coat remind you daily of the privilege it is to stand at a patient’s bedside, of the communities you are called to serve, and of the future you have the power to design,” she said. “Welcome to the journey of a lifetime. We are honored to walk it with you.”