Bad to the Boon

The Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine welcomed 132 new students during a special ceremony on July 9, formally marking the start of their medical education.

The School of Medicine’s annual Convocation and White Coat Ceremony took place on the Wright State Nutter Center floor with students’ families and friends filling the arena seats.

During the ceremony, students took 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 received a white coat, a traditional symbol of the medical profession, personalized with their name and the Boonshoft School of Medicine patch. Students also received a stethoscope, provided through donations from alumni, faculty and friends.

Students were welcomed by several speakers including Valerie Weber, M.D., dean of the Boonshoft School of Medicine.

“We are truly honored to be walking alongside you on this journey,” said Weber.

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 the students will represent their status as a class and meet the faculty who will share, during the next four or more years, what may be some of the most memorable and intense experiences of their lives.

“I am so blessed and honored to be here at Wright State,” said Camari Mike, first-year medical student from Miami. “Today just proved that I made the Wright choice.”

The students were carefully selected from a group of more than 7,600 applicants.

Ali El Kharsa, a first-year medical student from Dearborn, Michigan, is excited to be with a diverse group of students. “It’s going to be a long journey but I know we can do it,” he said.

In addition to Ohio, students are from 12 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The class includes students who were born all over the world, including Azerbaijan, China, Ghana, Greece, Iceland, Iran, Jamaica, Lebanon, Nigeria, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Syria.

Keeping with a long-standing tradition with new students at the medical school, members of the class of 2026 will refer to themselves as “Bad to the Boon.”