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(From left to right) Class of 2028 students Grace Booker, Kennedi Burns and Kia Bursey-Walker recite a pledge to dedicate themselves to the pharmacy profession. Image by Bryan Clifton

College of Pharmacy Class of 2028 Dons White Coats in Ceremony

Sept. 17, 2024 | The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Pharmacy Class of 2028 received their white coats at a ceremony held Friday, Sept. 6, in Little Rock, marking the beginning of their journey as student-pharmacists.

The annual ceremony recognizes incoming pharmacy students’ commitment to the profession and their transition into pharmacy school. This year’s ceremony, held at the Connor Performing Arts Center at Pulaski Academy, was sponsored by the Arkansas Pharmacists’ Association. Sudden showers prior to the event did little to dampen the students’ enthusiasm, as well as the hundreds of family and friends in attendance who came to cheer them on.

“As you don your white coats today, you take on the responsibilities, trust and compassion that come with being a student-pharmacist,” said College of Pharmacy Dean Cindy Stowe, Pharm.D. “This is no small step. You are now part of a pharmacy profession that holds immense power to improve lives, promote wellness and create positive change.”

The white coat ceremony is the first of three milestones on the students’ path to becoming pharmacists. Didactic curriculum, held in classrooms on campus, continues through their third year. This culminates in the second milestone — a pinning ceremony, recognizing their transition from didactic to experiential curriculum, which includes advanced practice experiences commonly called rotations. The third and final milestone is graduation at the conclusion of the fourth year.

Kerigan Bradshaw, a third-year pharmacy student and president of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP), served as the event’s emcee. She guided the new class in reciting a pledge to dedicate themselves to the pharmacy profession.

“We will see you throughout your curriculum and on through your rotations, and we’re excited to see what the future holds,” said John Vinson, Pharm.D., Class of 2005, CEO and executive vice president of the Arkansas Pharmacists Association. “I hear from people across the country all the time that Arkansas is the best state in the country to be a student-pharmacist. We’re little old Arkansas, but we’re mighty, and we’re powerful.”

Tori Hoggard, Pharm.D., MBA, Class of 2024, a first-year pharmacy resident at Unity Health in Searcy, was the keynote speaker. She shared wisdom from her own recently completed pharmacy school experience, saying that she wouldn’t have changed anything.

“Just getting to this point is an achievement that you should be proud of,” Hoggard said. “If you didn’t know how to work hard, you wouldn’t be in this room tonight.”

Hoggard said that although hard work, determination and organization were all useful skills for any pharmacy student, there was one thing that should be the students’ main focus.

“The most important thing you can do for yourself over the next four years is build a team of people around you who can help you to the finish line,” Hoggard said. “In pharmacy school and out of it, you’re going to have to work as part of a team. Whether you go to work in a pharmacy, a clinic, a hospital — wherever you find yourself, you’re going to work with a team of people.”

Hoggard said that faculty members were key parts of her team as a pharmacy student, serving as supporters and mentors, as well as valuable contacts once she became a professional. She added that student professional organizations, such as APhA-ASP and many others, allow for valuable travel, networking and volunteer opportunities that students might otherwise never have.

Building relationships, Hoggard said, is a critical part of any pharmacy student’s journey, and that few know their situation as well as the students themselves.

“You’re about to go through some of the hardest years of your life, and the people who most understand what you’re going through are the people going through the exact same things,” Hoggard said. “Make friends with your classmates. Invest in them, because you will have these friends and colleagues for the rest of your life.”

Student ambassadors for the event, who assisted with programs, organization and seating, student lineups and coating, were Evelyn McHaney, Alex Langston, Kori Mangan, Hayden Wood, Tyler Nueske, Louise Moore, Corinne Ridgell, Ciarra Helms, Lauren Dayer, Roxane Chamcheu, Jordae Hunter, Kerigan Bradshaw, Scarlett Averitt, De’Shabrion Williams, Taylor Hollowell, Lauren Harrell, Taylor Griffin, KiLee Finch, Mackenzie Rodgers, Maraam Zonfuly, Tionna Lyles, Maggie Watlington, Shira Hendrix, Madison May and Trevor Jones.