PNWU Hosts the College of Osteopathic Medicine Class of 2026’s White Coat Ceremony
On Friday, May 31, 2024, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) celebrated our College of Osteopathic Medicine student doctors’ transition from the classroom to a patient care environment, and their advancement as valued members of the healthcare workforce, during our PNWU-COM Class of 2026 White Coat Ceremony.
“The White Coat tells the world that you work for the health and well-being of your patients,” said university President Dr. Michael Lawler.
During the ceremony, which took place at Yakima’s historic Capitol Theatre, 139 PNWU student doctors were “coated” by university faculty and alumni, including Katheryn Hudon, DO, Assistant Professor & Chief Division of Pediatrics, PNWU-COM Class of 2014, who served as the event’s keynote speaker.
Having just joined the PNWU community at the start of the 2023/2024 academic year, PNWU Director of Student Success and Disability Services Ashley L. Bray was deeply moved by the symbolic celebration.
“Through their tenacity and courage, the class of 2026 has taught us all how to be better providers, support systems and advocates for our students and for each other,” said Bray. “They have done this work through the amplification of diverse voices, honoring their differences, and demonstrating resilience time and time again. I am extremely proud of each of their individual accomplishments; however, the thing that I am most proud of in this class is their unwavering commitment to each other and to the larger health science field.”
Though she was unable to attend this year’s White Coat Ceremony (her granddaughter was graduating the same day!), PNWU Administrative Assistant for Student Affairs E. Karen Garza beamed with pride when discussing the students’ rite of passage.
“I saw them struggle, fall, and get back up, and now they are putting on the coat to move forward in this demanding profession,” said Garza. “I see them doing great things. I would say to them, ‘Be brave, be amazing, aspire for more, and live your dream.’”