UICOMR welcomes new students at annual White Coat Ceremony
UICOMR welcomes new students at annual White Coat Ceremony Heading link
The University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford hosted a White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2027 on Friday, Aug. 11.
The ceremony recognized 56 first-year medical students, who arrived on campus this week, and the official start of their medical education. Students received the white coats they’ll wear during their journey to become doctors. They also recited an oath as they entered the field of medicine.
The latest crop of medical students come to Rockford representing 11 states and with 22 majors. The students speak a combined eight languages and come from 30 undergraduate institutions. In addition, 54% of the class is female, and 14% are first-generation students.
The students have a combined 41,074 hours of research, 19,848 hours of medical volunteering and 31,331 hours of community service.
“Getting my white coat is very important to me because it symbolizes the start of our fresh, new journey,” says Leah Drengenberg, a first-year medical student from Dixon, Ill. “My classmates and I have all had different paths to this point and receiving our white coat allows us to celebrate all the hard work we have put in collectively. It also allows our family and friends to celebrate and begin this journey alongside us.”
Tiffanie Ferry, MD, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, presented the keynote address.
Let’s meet the Class of 2027:
Omar Abdelaziz
Orland Park, Illinois
BS, Biological Sciences
University of Illinois Chicago
Zahid Abdul
Chicago, Illinois
BS, Biochemistry
University of Illinois Chicago
Tarek Abushamma
Cary, Illinois
BS, Biology
University of California
Darya Asoudegi
Naperville, Illinois
BS, Molecular and Cellular Biology
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Rose Bahari
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
BS, Biology
University of Illinois Chicago
BS, Psychology
University of Illinois Chicago
Grace Bartenfelder
Washington, District of Columbia
BS, Neuroscience
Tulane University BS, Physiology and Biophysics
Georgetown University
Cole Blazier
Carmi, Illinois
BS, Physiology
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Amaan Chalisa
Naperville, Illinois
BS, Community Health
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Madison Cheung
Portland, Oregon
BS, Biochemistry & Biology
Brandeis University
Catalina Desmond-Lopez
Rock Falls, Illinois
BA, English
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Sydney Dix
Herrin, Illinois
BS, Biological Sciences
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Leah Drengenberg
Dixon, Illinois
BS, Medical Biology
University of South Dakota
Christopher Fong
Oakland California
BS, Biology
University of California, Merced
Dominick Forlenza
Hopewell Junction, New York
BS, Biomedical Sciences
Gregory Forlenza
Hopewell Junction, New York
BS, Biomedical Sciences
Quinnipiac University
Andrea Frerker
Maryville, Illinois
BS, Chemistry
Quinnipiac University
Ismail Hassan
Lombard, Illinois
BS, Psychology
Loyola University Chicago
BS, Biomedical Sciences
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science
Bailey Hollis
Hamilton, Illinois
BS, Human Physiology
University of Iowa
Hailey Hulse
Cove, Oregon
BS, Biology
Lewis-Clark State College
Esther Kareri
Silver Spring, Maryland
BA, Biology
University of Virginia
Avery Keesee
Elizabeth, Illinois
BS, Biology
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Mudassir Khan
Oak Park, Illinois
BS, Bioengineering
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Spencer Lavin
Wilmette, Illinois
BS, Art History & Biology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Peyton Long
Centralia, Illinois
BS, Biology
Illinois Wesleyan University
Stephanie Lopez
Buffalo Grove, Illinois
BA, Psychology
Northwestern University
Andrew Maduakor
Lanham, Maryland
BS, Physiology and Neurobiology
University of Maryland
Laura Marek
Long Grove, Illinois
BS, Neurobiology
University of Iowa
MS, Medical Physiology
University of Illinois-Chicago
Aleksandar Marjanovic
Chicago, Illinois
BSN, Nursing
Dominican University
Austin Marsiglio
Antioch, Illinois
BS, Biomedical Sciences
Auburn University
MS, Biological Sciences
Auburn University
Sara McMaster
Soldotna, Alaska
BA, Biological Sciences
Columbia University
Daniyal Mehmood
Lombard, Illinois
BS, Health Science
Benedictine University
Emma Mendez
Oak Lawn, Illinois
BSChem, Chemistry
University of Michigan
Hind Mothana
Chicago, Illinois
BS, Biology
Loyola University Chicago
MS, Law
Northwestern University
Nitin Nagaraj
Sacramento, California
BS, Physiology
University of Washington
Sabrina Navarro
Irvine, California
BS, Physiological Science
University of California
MS, Global Medicine
University of Southern California
Molly Nguyen
Mattoon, Illinois
BS, Molecular and Cellular Biology
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
MS, Human Nutrition
Columbia University
Sydney Olszewski
Cincinnati, Ohio
BS, Biology
University of Cincinnati
William Reiser
Springfield, Illinois
BS, Molecular and Cellular Biology Honors
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Dalton Rogers
Sullivan, Illinois
BS, Biology-Chemistry
Dominican University
Randi Rotramel
Hondo, Texas
BSA, Biology
The University of Texas
Arjun Sharma
Alamo, California
BS, Biological Sciences
Northwestern University
MPH, Public Health
University of Pennsylvania
Meghana Sharma
Bolingbrook, Illinois
BA, Psychology
University of Illinois Chicago
Mackenzie Sievers
Staunton, Illinois
BS, Biological Sciences
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Melissa Singleton
Mahomet, Illinois
BS, Integrative Biology
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Spanish
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Wyatt Smith
Stewardson, Illinois
BS, Physiology
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Zachary Smith
Delta, Utah
BA, Spanish
Utah Valley University
Alyssa Steege
Ottawa, Illinois
BS, Molecular Biology
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Dominic Tagler
Frankfort, Illinois
BS, Psychology (concentration in Behavioral Neuroscience)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Anika Tharnstrom
Wheaton, Illinois
BS, Psychology
Illinois State University
Ryan Walton
Midlothian, Illinois
BS, Human Development & Family Studies
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Andrew Wang
Chicago, Illinois
BS, Chemistry
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
MA, Biological Sciences
Midwestern University
Kayla Wartman
Schaumburg, Illinois
BS, Biology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Amanda Weis
Buffalo Grove, Illinois
BS, Neurobiology University of Wisconsin-Madison
BS, Psychology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Margaret Wright
Marion, Iowa
BA, Biology
Lawrence University
Stephanie Wu
Aurora, Illinois
BA, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Hamilton College
BA, Literature Hamilton College
Alissa Zeglen
Lemont, Illinois
BS, Sociology
Truman State University