The SOPPS PharmD program marked a significant milestone on a sunny September Sunday morning as more than 80 PharmD students donned their white coats for the first time and officially began their journeys as professional pharmacy students. This year’s ceremony drew an impressive crowd of family members, friends, faculty, and alumni, both in person and via livestream, to celebrate the Class of 2029.
Interim Dean Dr. Michael Gonyeau opened the ceremony with characteristic warmth and humor and set an encouraging tone for the incoming students while acknowledging the weight of the moment.
“Looking the part does not make us competent pharmacists,” Gonyeau told the newly coated students. “The coat doesn’t actually contain the knowledge, skills, or professional attitude. That part is still up to you. But it does come with something equally important: the weight of responsibility and the promise of possibility.”
The ceremony’s keynote address was given by Dr. Lucianne West, a 2016 Northeastern PharmD graduate who now serves as Director of Quality and Regulatory for Transplant and Ventricular Assist Devices at Tufts Medical Center. Dr. West, who completed residencies at Johns Hopkins Hospital and practiced at Cleveland Clinic, shared her message about finding purpose in the profession.
“Your why – your passion, your purpose, your driving force – will be the foundation of everything you do,” West told the students, referencing her national presidential theme when she served as President of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists during her time at Northeastern.
West illustrated the diversity of pharmacy careers by sharing how four close friends from her graduating class each found different paths that are still changing—clinical practice, health system administration, retail pharmacy operations, and pharmaceutical industry leadership. “Four pharmacists. Four very different careers. Each of us found our own why. And that’s the beauty of this profession,” she said.
The ceremony also recognized two outstanding preceptors who exemplify dedication to student education. Dr. Kirsten Brooks, a 2019 Northeastern PharmD alumna who serves as Pharmacist and Co-Op/Intern Program Coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Outpatient Pharmacy, received the IPPE/Co-op Preceptor of the Year award.
Dr. Catherine Dunton of Boston Medical Center earned the APPE Preceptor of the Year award for her ambulatory care rotation. Dr. Dunton led the newly coated students in reciting the Oath of a Pharmacy Intern, marking their formal entry into the profession.
The ceremony concluded with students joining their families and friends to celebrate this moment in their professional journey, carrying with them the challenge to discover and live their “why” throughout their careers.
This year’s ceremony was made possible through the generous support of donors to the White Coat Ceremony Fund, enabling us to sponsor more than half of the white coats for our incoming class. If you would like to make next year’s ceremony equally memorable for future pharmacy students, please consider contributing directly to this fund.
