Inaugural White Coat Ceremony held for Pre-Health majors

Delaware State University has elevated its game when it comes to helping its students who are seeking careers in the health professions.

The University held its inaugural White Coat Ceremony on Feb. 13 in the MLK Jr. Student Center parlors to symbolize its emphasis in providing students majoring in the pre-health disciplines biological sciences, chemistry, kinesiology, nursing, food and nutritional sciences, and pre-veterinarian with more resources and opportunities outside of the classroom to be exposed to professional settings.

The College of Agriculture, Sciences and Technology (CAST) originally planned the ceremony as event for freshmen pre-health majors, but according to Dean Cherese Winstead Casson, but it was later expanded to also include upper classmen students as well.

The participating students all receive white coats symbolizing their commitment to achieve their academic and professional goals in the health care industry.  

Dr. Winstead Casson said a lot of the push for the initiative came from the students.

“Pre-health students were getting frustrated as they were trying to navigate this space,” Dean Winstead Casson said. “The students needed more opportunities to do shadowing, clinicals, talks with doctors, and visiting hospitals.”

One of the biggest student voices came from Zaire Blackwell, a junior biological science with concentration in health professions, from Smyrna. He is also the President of the DSU Chapter of the Minority Association of Pre-Medical/Pre-Health Student. The organization was established in 2018, but then became inactive. Mr. Blackwell worked with the University to reactivate it as an official student organization.

As President of that chapter, he made the concerns of the pre-medical and pre-health students known to CAST.

“This is my third year here, and I had not been getting the opportunities in needed,” Mr. Blackwell said. “All the connections I made, all the opportunities I had, I got on my own.”

He raised this issue with the CAST dean, which led to this White Coat initiative. “My concerns did not go unheard,” Mr. Blackwell said.

This also led to CAST to partner with White Coat White Collar, a global community and go-to resource for STEM and healthcare students, graduates and professional looking to explore diverse career option in their fields.

Dr. Aurellia Whitmore, the founder of White Coat White Collar, traveled from Atlanta, Ga. to participate in the inaugural DSU White Coat Ceremony. She said her organization works to bridge the gap between academia and the workforce within the STEM and health care industries, connecting academic training with real world health care and STEM opportunities.

“Through our organization, we are providing mentorship, career services and vital resources to DSU,” Dr. Whitmore said. “A huge part of my role and my work is to extend and forge some partnerships between educational institutions and industries that enhance career readiness among students and make sure that they are well-equipped for their future roles and prepare them for successful careers.”

Dr. Whitmore said other events at DSU are being planned as part of this initiative, opportunities are being sought with Delaware healthcare institutions, and programs are being formulated to document DSU student success.

A number of students felt good about the White Coat initiative.

“These types of ceremonies really show students where the journey is really headed,” Jalani Bryant, senior Natural Resources/Environmental Sciences major from Middletown, Del. It prepares for you for the journey you are on and provides the motivation to continue the journey.”

Maryann Serrano de Leon, a freshman from Puerto Rico, said the initiative is moving her in the right direction. “It is a bigger step to my future career, which is to be a veterinarian,” she said. “It give me motivation to keep going.”

Tristen Sing, also a Pre-Veterinarian Science major from Lewes Del.

“It gives me a visualization of the career I have chosen for my life, and gets me one step ahead to where I want to be,” said Ms. Sing from Lewes, Del. “This coat symbolizes that I am in it for the long run and that I mean serious business about what I have passion for and what I plan on doing.”

Yasmeen Olass, a sophomore Biochemistry major from Atlanta Ga. Biochemistry, said the initiative magnifies all of the hard work that she has put into passing STEM-related classes. “This makes us feel more of the push, because our sophomore year is when we are taking the harder classes,” she said. “This is giving me the drive and making feel like I have a future white coat on me.”

Na’ja Stokes, a sophomore Biological Sciences/Research Professionals major from Detroit, Mich., said the White Coat initiative reflects well on CAST and the University.

“The White Coat Ceremony really means that CAST is listening to the concerns of the students, with getting more of those pre-health initiatives out there and finding opportunities for us to eventually go into the professions of being medical professionals,” Ms. Stokes said. “This whole ceremony really symbolizes that they are working toward making sure that the students who are interested in making that next step of whatever medical career they want to go into have those opportunities.”