For immediate release: Aug. 17, 2007
GALVESTON, Texas - When freshman School of Medicine student Claudia Gomez joins the ranks of the Class of 2011 at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, her sister, Victoria, will be right next to her, helping her put on a brand-new white medical coat.
The Galveston sisters will be taking part in the White Coat ceremony Monday, Aug. 20, where nearly 230 new students will symbolically join the medical profession by donning a white medical coat.
"I'm really happy and proud of her," says Victoria, 25, about her sister, Claudia, 24. "I'm also very glad that she decided to stay in Galveston."
Claudia took a few years off after college to travel and work in South America, familiar territory since her family came to the United States from Chile when she was about 2 years old.
Claudia knew that she eventually would wind up in medical school. "My first choice was UTMB. I just love Galveston."
The ceremony is scheduled for 4 p.m. in William C. Levin Hall.
The white coat ceremony is a relatively new tradition that started in 1993 at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York City. The concept of a white coat ceremony came from Dr. Arnold Gold, a professor at Columbia. The idea spread quickly and more than 90 percent of schools of medicine and osteopathy now have some sort of white coat ceremony.
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
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301 University Boulevard, Suite 3.102
Galveston, Texas 77555-0144
www.utmb.edu