The Class of 2027 is here!
UConn School of Medicine is back-to-school and it’s an exciting time for the incoming 112 first-year medical students who were honored at the annual White Coat Ceremony of UConn School of Medicine on Aug. 18.
The tradition serves as the students’ official launch of their medical school journey, with students donning their new white doctor coats for the first time and pledging the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm as they begin their medical education and training including early exposure to patient care training opportunities during their first few weeks of medical school.
One of the enthusiastic first-year medical students is Sumeet Kadian, 22, of East Lyme, Connecticut. He is a recent UConn graduate with his undergraduate BS degree in Molecular and Cell Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Healthcare and Society, an individualized major looking at how different cultures view health care.
Since middle school he’s been passionate about medicine and attending medical school after volunteering at a local hospital. In high school he was accepted into UConn’s Special Program in Medicine to pursue an 8-year dual BS/MD degree.
“I knew UConn School of Medicine was where I wanted to be back in high school,” Kadian recalls who is now at UConn’s medical school receiving his white coat on the path to become a UConn made physician. “To me, getting my white coat is symbolic of starting one’s journey to becoming a clinician in the 21st-century, where teamwork with other healthcare professionals is the norm, mistakes and learning from them are expected, and lifelong learning is appreciated,” he says.
Kadian adds: “I’m very excited to start my medical school journey as it is something I have dreamed of and worked towards for some time now. I’m enthusiastic about the first couple days of medical school, about making new lifelong friends, and about starting this new and exciting chapter in my life,” he said. “Medicine will allow me to combine my love of science, healthcare, lifelong learning, and desire to give back to the community by making tangible differences in others’ lives.”
Class of 2027 By the Numbers:
Total Applications: 4,336
Incoming Class Size: 112
Connecticut Residents: 76%
UConn Undergraduates: 35%
Average Age: 23
Female: 57%
Male: 43%
Underrepresented in Medicine: 17%
“I’m very excited!” shared Arlie Koziol, 26, of Middlebury, Conn., a pediatric APRN turned UConn medical student who received her BS in Pathobiology from UConn.
“As a former UConn student and a lifetime Husky, I can’t imagine a better place to attend medical school than UConn School of Medicine,” Koziol exclaims. “My undergraduate experience at UConn was pivotal to understanding my full potential. Likewise, I was lucky enough to be involved in research at UConn Health, an opportunity that, in conjunction with personal experiences, has solidified my confidence in and fondness for this medical school and healthcare network. UConn has laid the foundation for who I am today and I believe UConn School of Medicine will continue to support me in my journey to become a physician.”
After receiving her brand new white coat, Koziol is on a mission to giveback to her home state of Connecticut.
“I am looking forward to caring for and improving the wellbeing of individuals in the state that I call home,” she says.
Prior to medical school at UConn, first-year medical student Olasubomi Ajayi, 23, from Washington, New Jersey, also a grad of UConn Storrs, successfully participated in the Health Career Opportunity Program as a UConn Health Disparities Clinical Summer Research Fellow.
“Getting my white coat is a childhood dream actualized, and means the world to me,” says Ajayi. “It represents God’s grace in my life and the countless sacrifices my Nigerian immigrant parents have made over the years to get me to this point.”
Donning her white coat also is personally and powerfully symbolic to this young Black woman entering the medical field at UConn to be a future doctor and positively impact peoples’ lives.
“It signifies two decades of my dedication, sacrifice, and passion for the medicine profession as well as getting one step closer to helping communities like the ones I come from,” Ajayi says.
“I hope that my journey inspires other Black girls that despite the barriers we face, they can be doctors too because anything is possible with commitment.”
And anything is possible at UConn.
Welcome Class of 2027! Congratulations.
