CARBONDALE – A White Coat ceremony on August 13 celebrated the 83 students in the Class of 2025 pursuing medical degrees at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
During the ceremony, students receive their symbolic white coats in Carbondale’s Shryock Auditorium to begin their journeys to become physicians. The learners spend the first year of training on the Carbondale campus and years 2-4 in Springfield. (Eight students in the Lincoln Scholars program spend all four years downstate.)
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SIU Medicine Dean and Provost Jerry Kruse, MD, MSPH, and SIU System President Daniel Mahony, Ph.D., delivered remarks to the group. Matthew Winkleman, MD, Class of 2002 and president of the school’s Alumni Society Board of Governors, Wesley McNeese, MD, Class of 1986 and system executive director for diversity initiatives, and Sheila Caldwell, EdD, SIU System vice president of antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion, joined the dean in presenting white coats and pins to the students on behalf of the Alumni Society and the Foundation.
Debra Klamen, MD, MHPE, senior associate dean for education and curriculum and chair of the Department of Medical Education at SIU Medicine, led the students in reading the Physician’s Pledge. Associate Professor and Chair of Emergency Medicine Christopher McDowell, MD, gave the keynote address. McDowell received the school’s 2020 Humanism in Medicine Award.
The White Coat Ceremony is designed to establish a commitment to professionalism and empathy in medicine and takes place at most U.S. medical schools each fall.
Established in 1970, SIU School of Medicine is based in Springfield and Carbondale and focused on the health care needs of downstate Illinois. It educates physicians to practice in Illinois communities and has graduated more than 3,093 physicians since the first class in 1975.
Class of 2025 students, parents, and hometowns, grouped by regions:
SOUTHERN
- Ian Alberts, son of Dean and Shari Alberts of Smithton
- Maia Cain, daughter of Matthew and Jeanine Cain of Granite City (Lincoln Scholar)
- Elizabeth Drone, daughter of Patrick and Lisa Drone of West Frankfort
- Kiri Evans, daughter of Charles and Martha Evans of Belleville
- Austyn Frassato, spouse of Kylee Frassato and son of Robert and Leslie Frassato of Creal Springs (Lincoln Scholar)
- Kaitlyn Frick, daughter of Scott and Connie Frick of Edwardsville
- Eryn Gould, daughter of Patrick and Tamara Gould of Mount Carmel
- Reem Khader, daughter of Refat Khader and Marwa Omran of Carbondale
- Maryam Makhdoom, daughter of Dr. Zahoor and Sumera Makhdoom of Carbondale
- Slater Martin, son of Roger and Mitzi Martin of Robinson
- Brent Moallankamp, son of Randall Moallankamp of Pulaski and Jerri Crippen of Ullin
- Zachary Moore, spouse of Ashten Moore and son of Gregory Moore of Cobden and Melissa Naas of Murphysboro
- Sydney Nyquist, daughter of David and Janet Nyquist of Highland
- Jay Patel, son of Pragnesh and Mina Patel of Collinsville
- Elizabeth Portugal, spouse of Aileen Portugal and daughter of Michael Lampe and Cheryl Sommer of O'Fallon
- Drew Ratliff, son of Darren and Ginger Ratliff of Wood River (Lincoln Scholar)
- Molly Smith, daughter of Jason and Lori Smith of Johnston City
- Garrett Sweatt, son of Andy Sweatt of Fernandina Beach, Fl., and Valerie Livesay of Edwardsville
- Grace Thompson, daughter of Timothy and Jill Thompson of Edwardsville
- Brock Tonazzi, son of Mark and Lori Tonazzi of Marion (Lincoln Scholar)
- Taryn Weatherly, daughter of Eric and Angie Weatherly of Eva, Tenn. /Elizabethtown
- Avani Yaganti, daughter of Srinivasarao and Anita Yaganti of O’Fallon
- Amber Bottrell, daughter of Robert and Ruth Bottrell of Chatham
- Patrick Bruch, son of Michael and Kathryn Bruch of Peoria
- Annah Carney, daughter of Brett and Dianne Carney of Springfield
- Bethany Daniels, daughter of Carla Daniels of Buffalo and the late Mitchell Daniels
- David Farmer, son of John and Sarah Farmer of Springfield (Lincoln Scholar)
- Benjamin Gallaher, son of Randall and Karen Gallaher of Brighton
- Shrihita Ganga, daughter of Ganesh and Karuna Ganga of Springfield (Lincoln Scholar)
- Hailey Hollinshead, daughter of Robert and Rhonda Hollinshead of Springfield
- Emma Hughes, daughter of Brad and Stephanie Hughes of Rochester
- Elisa Jensen, daughter of Jeff and Cheryl Jensen of Dunlap
- Tyler Jones, son of Brook Jones of Springfield and the late Charles Jones
- Taylor Justison, daughter of Mark and Kathy Justison of Chatham
- Sophia Mounce, daughter of Daniel and Diane Mounce of Spaulding
- John Padanilam, son of Basil and Anne Padanilam of Springfield
- Alexis Power, daughter of Mathew and Jennifer Power of Springfield
- Carmensa Remolina, daughter of Rodrigo and Melissa Remolina of Springfield
- Trent Rich, son of Mark Rich and Carla Rose of Metamora
- Hannah Roberts, daughter of William Roberts and Mary Gorman of Springfield
- Morgan Rottinghaus, daughter of Tony and Nicole Rottinghaus of Springfield
- Zachary Settelmyer, son of Scott and Lynne Settelmyer of Peoria
- Fletcher Summa, son of Michael Summa of Lebanon, Conn., and Lari LaBello of West Peoria
- Kayla Swisher, daughter of Candice Rashid of Pekin
- Megan Tomlin, daughter of Troy and Carol Tomlin of Auburn
- Erika Ward, daughter of John and Cindy Ward of Springfield
- Adam Western, son of Randy and Jennifer Western of Rochester
NORTHERN
- Olubukolw Ayegbusi, daughter of Ojo and Lara Ayegbusi of Aurora
- Andrew Buchheit, son of Brian and Maria Buchheit of Homer Glen
- Brix Clayton, son of Ken Clayton of Forreston and Lisa Garber Clayton of Polo
- Natalie Jaramillo, daughter of Ruben Jaramillo and Martha Martinez of Brookfield (Lincoln Scholar)
- Peyton Keller, son of Michael and Brenda Keller of Byron
- Rachel Miller, daughter of Kenya Mubeen of Vancouver, Wash., and William and Ann Peoples of Dolton
- Ashley-Ann Walker, daughter of Hopeton Walker and Shelley Walters-Walker of Sarasota, FL / Aurora
EASTERN
- Connie Bao, daughter of Shiping Bao and Xiaoyun Wu of Mahomet
- Michael Brown, son of David and Michele Brown of Champaign
- Zachary Cheng, son of Hoi Cheng and Fang Li of Bloomington
- Alexis Corzine, daughter of Thomas and Carla Dickey of Saint Joseph
- Gautami Galpalli, daughter of Goverdhan and Suchitra Galpalli of Bloomington
- Samuel Gubbins, son of Bruce and Rachel Gubbins of Champaign
- Mary Hong, daughter of Toan and Jenny Hong of Champaign
- Kevin Le Mentec, son of Jean-Christophe Le Mentec and Zsuzsanna Fagyal-Le Mentec of Bloomington
- Natalie McClure, daughter of Philip and Bridget McClure of Bourbonnais
- Yosra Nadhimi, daughter of Felahaldean Nadhimi and Asraa Ibrahim of Champaign
- Mark Overby, son of Michael and Karen Overby of Bloomington
- Lindsay Stine, spouse of Eric Alba and daughter of Charles and Kim Stine of Macon
- Andrew Tresslar, son of Jon and Jennifer Tresslar of Charleston
- Jacob Ward, son of Douglas and Stephanie Ward of Downs
- Chelsey Wisehart, daughter of George Wisehart of Homer and the late Carla Wisehart
WESTERN
- Summer Lawrence, daughter of Mike Lawrence and Sherry Maurer of Rock Island
- Taylor Nesselroad, daughter of James Nesselroad and Valerie Flacco of Wataga
- Jenna Schultz, daughter of William and Tammy Schultz of Pekin /Quincy (Lincoln Scholar)
- Brendan Seabold, son of Steven and Lisa Seabold of Quincy
- Tyler Seal, son of Drew and Yvette Seal of Rushville
OUT OF STATE
- Temitope Adeleke, daughter of Dotun and Lola Adeleke of Prince George’s County, Md.
- Paetyn Cage, daughter of Roland and Homella Cage of Huntersville, NC
- Oliver Caldwell, son of Troy and Terri Caldwell of Nazareth, Pennsylvania
- Matt Demir, son of Sakin and Gulay Demir of Normal and Indianapolis, Ind.
- Djamina Esperance, daughter of Pierre and Chrismene Esperance of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
- Victoria Idowu, daughter of Christianah Akinlosotu of Woodbury, Minn.
- Sidney Leno, daughter of Michel and Marie Leno of Laytonsville, Md.
- Roxanne Okeke, daughter of Charles Chukwurah and Nicole Chinwe Okeke of Las Vegas, Nevada
- Stephanie Viteri Galarza, daughter of Edgar Viteri and Lidia Galarza of Queens, NY
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