UConn School of Medicine’s Class of 2030 has just arrived at the UConn Health campus in Farmington, and these 117 future doctors are now wearing their brand-new white physician coats.
On August 14 each of the new UConn medical students were gifted their white coat during the annual White Coat Ceremony milestone marking the exciting and symbolic start of their four-year medical school journey to become UConn-made physicians.
“I cannot be more proud to welcome you to your White Coat Ceremony,” shared the event’s host Dr. Marilyn Katz, assistant dean for Medical Student Affairs at UConn School of Medicine. “The White Coat Ceremony is synonymous with the start of medical school. From this point on you are no longer a student, you are a future physician!”
Longtime dean of UConn School of Medicine, Dr. Bruce T. Liang, also warmly welcomed the first-year medical students, along with their family and friends in attendance.
“Welcome to UConn School of Medicine!” shared Liang. “You are a physician in training now. Your patients will confide in you. Whatever you learn from your patients will always stick with you. We talk a lot about the future of AI, but I can tell you there is no substitute from what you will learn from your patients.”
Liang added, “UConn is proud to be the number one producer of Connecticut’s healthcare workforce, and also many scientists. Today, you embark on being a future member of the healthcare workforce. This is a calling, not just a job!”
A School of Medicine alum from the Class of 1990, Dr. David Karas, also addressed the new medical students who works as an ENT expert in New Haven. He let the UConn medical students know there was a special surprise letter cheering them on from a varied School of Medicine alum in each of their new white coats thanks to the UConn Alumni Association.
“I welcome all of you on what will be a really amazing experience for you. Your path to medicine has been different for all of you. Your service to humanity is really a beautiful thing! Your patients will teach you more than you will ever imagine.” shared Karas.
Welcome Class of 2030!
Meet some of the Class of 2030’s 117 medical students in the UConn School of Medicine’s largest class yet, selected from 5,243 applicants, with 6 pursuing dual MD/Ph.D. degrees, 70% are Connecticut residents, 63% are female, and 32% earned UConn undergraduate degrees.
Former U.S. Marine, Jacob O’Neil, 28, from Coventry is joining the medical student ranks at UConn School of Medicine. He was an undergraduate at UConn Storrs with dual majors in Nutritional Sciences and Spanish. He served four years with the Marines, and was deployed twice spending time in 11 countries.
He now has a new uniform – a white coat.
“Getting a white coat means the start of an incredibly long yet rewarding career, and a cumulation of years of hard work to reach this point,” says O’Neil. He says the first few days of medical school has been busy but, “I am incredibly excited and humbled to be here.”
O’Neil chose to apply to UConn medical school due to his commitment to service, working in his home state of Connecticut, and the medical school’s dedicated team- based learning style.
“My biggest hope is to fulfill my potential, and become a physician that my patients can rely on,” O’Neil says.
Incoming medical student Julius Danquah also has served three years in the military with the Maryland Army National Guard. He moved to the U.S. in 2013 from Kumasi, Ghana. He attended Philander Smith University in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he graduated with a degree in Biology.
“Receiving my white coat is a very important moment for me. It marks the start of a journey I have worked hard to pursue and represents the responsibility that comes with becoming a doctor. It will also remind me of the people who have supported and believed in me along the way,” Danquah says. “It feels amazing to finally be here and know that the journey I have aimed for is now starting.”
He says the experiences he gathered growing up in an underserved community in Africa, serving in the Maryland Army National Guard, and working as a research coordinator made him long for a career that could help combine service, science, and a desire to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.
“I chose UConn because of its focus on teamwork and service, and the supportive environment I felt during the admissions process. I believed UConn would be a place where I could grow both as a doctor and as a person,” says Danquah. “My biggest hope is to become a doctor who makes a real difference in patients’ lives and in the communities I serve.”
UConn Health’s own is also joining the Class of 2030 and is full of excitement and gratitude.
“I am so excited!!! I’m feeling incredibly grateful to finally be starting medical school,” says former clinical research assistant II of UConn Health’s New England Sickle Cell Institute turned medical student Elicia Colon, 24, of Bloomfield. She earned her undergraduate degree at Brown University in Cognitive Science.
“To me, getting my white coat is not only a symbol of all the hard work it’s taken to get here, but a reminder of the journey that’s to come. If there’s anything I’ve learned over the past few years, it’s that becoming a doctor encompasses something greater than yourself,” says Colon. “It’s a commitment to serve others in both innovative and profound ways. But it is also a privilege. As the first doctor to come from my family, I hope to be a beacon of hope for future generations. Whether I am working in the clinic, pursuing research, or learning alongside my peers, putting on my white coat reminds me that becoming a physician is a responsibility that is earned day in and day out. For me, this is what makes this moment so meaningful – and one of the most gratifying reasons I chose to pursue an MD.”
For Colon, pursing medicine became clear through a combination of close family member health diagnoses and working in healthcare experiences.
“These experiences gave me an early understanding of what illness can mean for patients and their families. Yet, as I gained more clinical experiences of my own – working with sickle cell, pediatric oncology, and cardiology patients – I’ve come to realize that medicine is where I wanted to build my career,” she says.
Colon loved working at UConn Health’s New England Sickle Cell Institute.
“Not only did I learn pathophysiology from amazing hematologists, like Dr. Biree Andemariam, but I also learned a variety of other skills, like clinic workflow and teamwork dynamics, from an amazing healthcare team. I had the opportunity to work directly with sickle cell patients, ranging from native Connecticut residents to patients from Atlanta, traveling to be part of the NESCI program. I have built amazing relationships with many patients. UConn School of Medicine provides me the unique opportunity to continue my work that I started at UConn Health. Whether working in a clinic, or participating in HCOP initiatives like Doctors Academy, what a better place to develop into a physician than Connecticut, my forever home.”
“I can’t wait to learn not only about medicine, but also what it means to become a physician and a health advocate for the greater Hartford community!” says Colon. “I’m especially excited about the CLIC component of UConn SOM’s curriculum because it gives us the opportunity to build these skills early on and apply them in real patient interactions.”
A nurse practitioner is now a new medical student at UConn. Leslie Wynveen is in the Class of 2030. She earned her Master of Science in Nursing at Yale School of Nursing, her BSN from University of Evansville, and worked as a nurse in different settings for nine years.
“For me, the White Coat Ceremony marks the transition from nurse practitioner to physician. While a new career, I carry the lessons I learned from being a nurse practitioner with me as I continue learning,” shares Wynveen. “I’m excited to start medical school and while there are of course nerves, I know I am where I am meant to be.”
Her decision to become a physician stemmed from watching her mentors work through complicated diagnoses and in doing so, giving patients answers and control of their health.
“I desired to have the knowledge and training that they possessed. I chose UConn because of the supportive faculty and mentorship. UConn’s active and collaborative learning opportunities will allow me to apply medical knowledge and learn from not only faculty but also my peers,” Wynveen says sharing how she is really looking forward to clinical training rotations.
“I am excited to explore all the specialties and garner as much experience and knowledge as I can throughout my time at UConn School of Medicine,” Wynveen shares.
Liang, dean of UConn medical school concluded at the event, “Congratulations Class of 2030. And best of luck to you!”
Watch the livestream replay of the 2026 White Coat Ceremony of UConn School of Medicine.
