Convocation ceremony marks start of medical education for class of 2025

During the Boonshoft School of Medicine’s Convocation and White Coat Ceremony, entering students will take an oath of professional medical ethics and receive a personalized white coat with the medical school patch.

The Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine will welcome 128 students during a special ceremony on Sunday, July 25, formally marking the start of their medical education. The annual Convocation and White Coat Ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. at the Dayton Masonic Center at 525 W. Riverview Ave., Dayton, OH 45405.

During the ceremony, students will take their first oath of professional medical ethics, concluding with the words, “I commit myself to a lifelong journey of learning how to cure, relieve and comfort with humility and compassion.”

Each student will receive a white coat — a traditional symbol of the medical profession, personalized with their name and the Boonshoft School of Medicine’s patch. Students also will receive a stethoscope, provided through donations from alumni, faculty and friends.

The Convocation and White Coat Ceremony represents an important milestone in each student’s journey to enter the medical profession. It also marks the first time these students will gather as a class and meet the people who will share, during the next four or more years, what may be some of the most memorable and intense experiences of their lives.

The students, who were carefully selected from a group of 9,046 applicants, will begin orientation on Monday, July 19. Classes begin on Monday, July 26.

The class of 2025 draws from a variety of undergraduate experiences. Members of the class were educated at various universities. In Ohio, some of these include Miami University, Ohio State, Cedarville and Wright State. Members of the class also hail from The Citadel, Morehouse College, University of Pennsylvania, Spelman College, University of Utah, Howard University and Notre Dame University among others.

Most of the class is from Ohio, though some students come from as far away as California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts and New York. Eighty-five percent of the students are from Ohio, while 15 percent are from out of state. Some students come from other countries like Ghana, Georgia, Ukraine and South Africa.

Fifty-four percent are women, while 46 percent are men. Twenty percent are from populations underrepresented in medicine.

The members of the class of 2025 have shown a strong commitment to community service. They have volunteered in hospitals and medical centers in addition to serving on medical service trips.