More than one-hundred new medical students received their short white coats during AUC’s White Coat Ceremony on Monday, January 6, 2020. The traditional event, held on the university’s medical sciences campus in Sint Maarten, served as an official welcome to the AUC—a milestone in their journey to becoming physicians.
The evening celebrated each student’s commitment to medicine—a shared ambition that unites this very diverse class. Among them are career changers, veterans, the first in their families to attend medical school, and even collegiate athletes. They represent Generations X, Y and Z, hold citizenship in 7 different countries, and come to Sint Maarten from 34 US states, Puerto Rico, and 3 Canadian provinces.
These differences were applauded by AUC faculty and administrative leaders who addressed the incoming class during their White Coat Ceremony. Many took the opportunity to reflect on their own induction into medical school and articulated the significance of that moment.
“The White Coat Ceremony is, in essence, a rite of passage,” said Dr. Pedro Delgado, Senior Associate Dean of AUC’s Sint Maarten campus. “It serves as a contract between you and society—a contract where you commit to use the skills, knowledge, and expertise that you will obtain here for the betterment and health of society.”
That commitment was formalized as students, one by one, crossed the auditorium stage to receive and don their white coat. After the last name was called, the class joined together to recite the Modern Oath of Physicians, which is a pledge to uphold the values and tenets of medicine and respect the responsibility of the profession.
Dr. Alison Kinning, a 2012 AUC graduate who now practices as a vascular surgeon in Flint, Michigan, delivered the evening’s keynote address. In addition to urging students to take advantage of their time in Sint Maarten, Dr. Kinning described the traits of AUC students and alumni that make the university a uniquely special institution.
“When I arrived at AUC almost 12 years ago, I didn’t know anyone—just like you probably don’t know any one right now. But these people will become your family,” she said. “There is a common thread among all of us at AUC. We have a grit and determination that our US counterparts do not. AUC believes in you and we will be here to support you every step of the way.”
