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New Medical School Students Don Their White Coats for the First Time

Students during white coat ceremony 2025

July 29, 2025

Incoming students reflect on what this moment means to them

Donning a white coat at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) marked a homecoming for Kofi Asare ‘29, a first-generation student from Ghana, who grew up in New Jersey but attended college out of state.

“It’s the culmination of my prayers and the blessings on the way, not just for myself, but for people who look like me,” Asare says. “Receiving a white coat enables me to show people that going to medical school is possible for anybody. It’s confirmation that I belong and am capable of becoming a physician who can make a positive impact.’’

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