ATSU-ASDOH presents first-year students with white coats
Posted: August 4, 2025
A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) held a White Coat Ceremony on Friday, July 11, 2025, in Mesa, Arizona, welcoming the incoming class of 2029. Seventy-nine students received their white coats.
The White Coat Ceremony marks the students’ entrance into the health professions, and symbolizes their commitment to the obligations of their new profession. Characteristic of this ceremony is publicly swearing an oath acknowledging the students’ responsibility to their new profession and future patients.
ATSU-ASDOH Dean Desmond Gallagher, BDS, MA, FACD, welcomed students, their families, and friends to the ceremony, followed by opening remarks from Akshani Patel, D4, ATSU-ASDOH class of 2026 president, and Nafys Samandari, DDS, Arizona Dental Association president. Erin Maruska, DMD, MPH, FAGD, assistant professor, delivered the keynote address.
Check out more photos below and watch the full ceremony here.
