WHITE COAT & PINNING CEREMONY
FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025
WATSCO CENTER
1245 Dauer Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146
DEAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS,
The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine White Coat and Pinning Ceremony symbolizes the induction of first-year students into the noble profession of medicine. During the ceremony, each of our 12 academic societies is represented and first-year students are called upon to be coated and receive a pin from Miller School alumni.
A special thanks to Chief Academic Officer and Dean, Dr. Henri Ford; Executive Dean of Policy and Education, and Founding Chair of the Department of Medical Education, Dr. Latha Chandran; Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Dr. Hilit Mechaber; as well as the Office of Student Activities, the Freshman White Coat and Pinning Committee, and the Development and Alumni Relations Strategic Events team for all your support.
Thank you for joining us in celebrating this momentous occasion. Congratulations to the Class of 2029!
Sincerely,
Cameron Tovin and Tressa Rae Parker
2025 White Coat and Pinning Ceremony Chairs
OPENING REMARKS
Henri R. Ford, M.D., M.H.A.
Dean and Chief Academic Officer, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
WELCOME
Joseph J. Echevarria
President and Chief Executive Officer, University of Miami President, UHealth - University of Miami Health System
Dipen Parekh, M.D.
Chief Executive Officer, UHealth - University of Miami Health System
Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, University of Miami
Founding Director, Desai Sethi Urology Institute
The Victor A. Politano Endowed Chair in Urology
Manny Kadre, P.A.
Chair, Board of Trustees, University of Miami
Latha Chandran, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A. ’22
Executive Dean for Education and Policy
Bernard J. Fogel Chair in Medical Education
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
INTRODUCTION OF KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Cameron Tovin, M.D./M.P.H. Candidate, Class of 2028
2025 White Coat and Pinning Ceremony Committee Co-chair
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Lawrence B. Gardner, M.D.
Professor of Medicine and Senior Advisor to the Dean University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
INTRODUCTION OF WHITE COAT CO-CHAIR
Hilit Mechaber, M.D. ’95
Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
PIN SIGNIFICANCE
Tressa Rae Parker, M.D. Candidate, Class of 2028
2025 White Coat and Pinning Ceremony Committee Co-chair
HISTORY OF THE ACADEMIC SOCIETIES
Noa Kroyter, M.D. Candidate, Class of 2026
JP Russo, M.D. Candidate, Class of 2027
Executive Co-Directors of the Academic Societies
PRESENTATION OF THE WHITE COAT AND PIN
MEDICAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION REMARKS AND SPECIAL PRESENTATION
Christian Diez, M.D. ‘04
President, UM Medical Alumni Association
DECLARATION OF GENEVA
Dr. Chandran
ALMA MATER
Doctor’s Note
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Laurence B. Gardner, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
Senior Advisor to the Dean
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
Dr. Laurence Gardner, a University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine professor of medicine and senior advisor to Dean Henri Ford, joined the University of Miami in 1974 as an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine and chief of the Division of General Medicine.
Prior to his arrival in Miami, Dr. Gardner attended Harvard Medical School, where he graduated magna cum laude. He completed his residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and became a medical resident at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1972, he served for two years as a major in the United States Army Medical Corps and chief of the nephrology service, a position for which he was awarded a commendation medal.
At the Miller School, Dr. Gardner has conducted seminal research on acid-base physiology and clinical disorders of electrolyte metabolism, as well as the role of academic health centers in the development of health policy in the United States. The author of hundreds of high-impact articles, book chapters and books, Dr. Gardner was appointed chair of the Department of Medicine in 1994 and has also served as the department’s director of clinical programs and vice chair. Dr. Gardner was the Miller School’s interim dean from June 1, 2016, to July 1, 2017.
A former president of the Association of Professors of Medicine, Dr. Gardner is a member of the National Board of Medical Examiners and became a Life Member in 2011 after completing terms as chair and past chair of the organization’s executive board. He was inducted as a Master of the American College of Physicians in 2011.
THE PIN
THE PIN SYMBOLICALLY DEPICTS THE FIVE ASPECTS OF THE MILLER SCHOOL OF MEDICINE’S MISSION STATEMENT:
• The caduceus is the traditional symbol of the medical profession;
• The burnt-orange-and-Biscayne-green ‘U’ is the symbol of the University of Miami and its dedication to excellence in education;
• The DNA molecule is the symbol of past and ongoing scientific and clinical research;
• The sunburst represents our unique South Florida community, where we learn to become physicians; and
• The outstretched rays represent the healing hands we extend to those in need through our commitment to community service.
ACADEMIC SOCIETIES AND STUDENTS
ADLER-EVERITT
HUNTER
ASCLEPIUS
IMHOTEP
BLACKWELL
LAENNEC
COURVOISIER
CUSHING
HARVEY
ROENTGEN
SCHWEITZER
VIRCHOW
ADLER-EVERITT
Steven Adam Budnick
Rachel Chang
Matthew Halperin Colbert
Dominic Coletta
Laura Valentina Cordoba
Aryan Dalal
Dylan E. Fawls
O’Neal Michele Fox
Clara Elizabeth Lafollette
Megan McGrath
Iman Cynthia Kayo Megaing
Tanay Parwal
Briya Jignesh Patel
Juliette Marielle Thibodeau
Aditi Ira Vijendra
Himanshi Verma
ASCLEPIUS
Philip Alves Brinn
Sebastian Bujoi
Britta Elizabeth Carroll
Shazmeena Gul Khattak
Mody Kutkut
Nora Marie McGowan
Gunnar Meyer
Sophie Alexandra Minick
Katelyn Tran Nguyen
Gabriela Hanna Orlando
Karina Shital Patel
Stephanie Riveron
Samuel Levi Rosemore
Muskaan Sawhney
Christopher See Jacob Szlechter
Allen Zixiao Xue
BLACKWELL
Elizabeth Aziz Abraham
Abigail Lin Adera
Ivanshi Ahuja
Nicole Mary Attiq
Divyang Niteshkumar Bhatt
Rafael Alejandro Conte
Aarav Dubey
Noah De Guzman
Nikki India Jagid
Isabella Rachel Kamholtz
Carl Changmin Kim
Roberto Jesus Labrada
Nhi Le
Jemimah Ukamaka Ozed-Williams
Rodrigo Javier Barquero Rodriguez
Jatin Pal Singh
Zoe Jacqueline Tsoukas
COURVOISIER
Aziza Yasmine Ayoub
Jaelyn Alan Chang
Christopher Chi
Migel Ragudo Dio
Hannah Sophia Dejonge
Jamie Lily Foo
Rachel Claire Hu
Jahansher Khan
William Zenyung Liou
Margaret Grace Maynard
Elle Margaret Mezzio
Anna Rifkin
Isaiah Anthony Sheffield-Veney
Morgan Rivas Smith
Thabasya Veeramani
Xinyue Wang
CUSHING
Abdullah Diyaa Abdelkawy
Miranda Rose Benjamin
Calvin A. Bleskan
Ethan Philip DeGrandis
Devarsh Devang Desai
Giselle Marie Gonzalez
Henri Armin Kolb
Riley Serena Kubaska
Radhe Atulkumar Patel
Josh Atul Patel
Urja C. Patel
Michael Lucian Sama
Sierra Rose Simecek
Sierra Leila Single
Michael Conor Sosa
Gwendolyn Grace Sutton
Lily Yan
Olivia May Young
HARVEY
Anisha Marie Abraham
Anurag Sai Aka
Nathan Chung
Sabrina Caridad Cuba
Carlos Alberto De Celis
Reshika Sai Devarajan
Alessandra Shelby Farmer
Camille Lauren Free
Orlando Joseph Galindez
Pranavi Garlapati
Mateen Jangda
Eric Jung
Rohan Singh Khehar
Rachel Lillian Levi
Sierra Morton
Sakshi Vipul Parikh
Aidan Wells
HUNTER
Christopher George Alexopoulos
Geisy Beatriz Alfonso
Alexander Stephen Bae
Nate Stephan Bergfeld
Carson Albrecht Caddy
Michael Correia
McKenzie Nicole Daffin
Mariana Lopez Del Castillo
Peretz Gilberd
Erika Grace Guo
Evan Sidney Johnson
Janet Belinda Kang
Yitong Liu
Natalie Marie Machado
Mariam Kate Minevich
Hannah Quan
Alexis Nicole Singer
Alexander S. Vardy
IMHOTEP
Patricia Avila Cardet
Henry Hong Chi
Benjamin Ronen Dotan
Aastha Dubal
Jerry Tertius Fu
Keerthana Jayaraman
Sofia Momoka Kone
Samhita Kotapati
Andrea Maria Monterrubio
Callie Renee Mulligan
William Seldon Owens
Karen Pan
Sara Rahman
Leo Benjamin Ratzan
John-Michael Rodriguez
Andrew Khoa Tran
Marina Isabella Waisenberg
Blake Hampton Ward
LAENNEC
Patrick Joseph Bosco
Olivia Layne Bossardet
Alexander Bowman
Erika Kate Carmody
Victoria Louise Chiu
Naman Dua
Cristina Nicole Fernandez
Brooke Greenfield
Ali Altaf Hussain
Michel Hubert Huyghe
Isabel Marie Kapustka
Avni Kulkarni
Michael Salvatore Pannullo
Dilan Patel
Meghana Talluri
Valeria Westring
Madeline Ann Winter
ROENTGEN
Nandita Balaji
Isha Chekuri
Daniella Galtes
Samantha Nicole Garcia
Brendan Shields Gladwin
Andrew Joseph Gotschall
Sophia Isabella Jaguan
Ojas Kalia
Shayshadri Kumar Mallick
Isabella Mark
Kush Ritesh Patel
Rishyanth Peela
Samuele Francesco Petridis
Ryan Paul Rossow
Georgette Isabella Suarez
Sam Wimmer
Manisha K. Woodruff
Sejal Meenakshi Yadalla
SCHWEITZER
Ibraheem Ahmed
Katherine Casey Allen
Julio Javier Baigorri
Christopher James Carillo
Andrea Sara Strulovic Cohen
Jasmin Elizabeth Elnaggar
Ainsley Rein Hanrahan
Sebastian James Khairkhahan
Wiktoria Kowalczyk
Sungmin Kwon
Vincent Lai Nguyenkhoa
Joshua Leo Ortega
Anya Shroff
Ashwini Prasanna
Hannah Ren
Montserrat Roberts
Akash Ratna Ronanki
VIRCHOW
Farah Megan Abumeri
Kamal Amirneni
Kadambari Rukmini
Manaswini Ayithi
Daniel Feroz Ayubi
Zachary Seth Hammer
Michelle Huang
Luna Jiang-Qin
Sindhu Kolla
Rodney Wilson Michel
Matthew Dario Pancorbo
Archana Rao
Laurent Sanchez Rodriguez
Rupabali Samanta
Hadley Jordan Zabrowski
Alyan Zafar
DECLARATION OF GENEVA
AT THE TIME OF BEING ADMITTED AS A MEMBER OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION:
• I SOLEMNLY PLEDGE to dedicate my life to the service of humanity;
• THE HEALTH AND WELL BEING OF MY PATIENT will be my first consideration;
• I WILL RESPECT the autonomy and dignity of my patient;
• I WILL MAINTAIN the utmost respect for human life;
• I WILL NOT PERMIT considerations of age, disease or disability, creed, ethnic origin, gender, nationality, political affiliation, race, sexual orientation, social standing or any other factor to intervene between my duty and my patient;
• I WILL RESPECT the secrets that are confided in me, even after the patient has died;
• I WILL PRACTISE my profession with conscience and dignity and in accordance with good medical practice;
• I WILL FOSTER the honor and noble traditions of the medical profession;
• I WILL GIVE to my teachers, colleagues, and students the respect and gratitude that is their due;
• I WILL SHARE my medical knowledge for the benefit of the patient and the advancement of healthcare;
• I WILL ATTEND to my own health, well-being, and abilities in order to provide care of the highest standard;
• I WILL NOT USE my medical knowledge to violate human rights and civil liberties, even under threat;
• I MAKE THESE PROMISES solemnly, freely and upon my honour.
Declaration of Geneva adopted by the General Assembly of the World Medical Association at Geneva in 1948, revised in 2006, and edited in 2017
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI ALMA MATER
Southern suns and sky blue water, Smile upon you Alma Mater; Mistress of this fruitful land, With all knowledge at your hand, Always just to honor true, All our love we pledge to you. Alma Mater, stand forever On Biscayne’s wondrous shore.
