The bleachers in the gymnasium at Centennial High School were packed and the shouts and cheers, at times, were as loud as any you would hear at a rivalry game. But the jubilant ruckus on this night was not over basketball. The court was full of folding chairs and a stage where over 200 young people formally began med school last week.
The Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine welcomed 207 first-year students on July 19 for its ninth white coat ceremony welcoming an incoming class at the start of students’ medical careers. The school was founded in 2013 and welcomed its first class of students in 2016, who graduated in 2020. The school has a campus in Las Cruces adjacent to New Mexico State University, as well as a location in Melbourne, Fla.
“We are deeply committed to addressing the pressing need for medical professionals in underserved and rural communities,” Burrell’s cofounder and CEO, John Hummer, said during the ceremony. “Our students are not only embarking on a journey of personal development; they are also filling a crucial medical void bringing quality health care to the areas that need it the most.”
The speeches were brief, and most of the ceremony was devoted to inviting each new student to walk across the platform and receive a personally embroidered white physician’s coat as loved ones, many visiting Las Cruces for the first time, celebrated with applause, cheers and shouts.
The college’s dean and executive vice president of academic services, Dr. Bill Pieratt, said, “The white coat is more than just an accessory or a piece of clothing. It's a symbol that represents the purity of purpose and a commitment to compassionate care and the high standards of the osteopathic medical profession.”
The ceremony also included a recitation of the osteopathic oath, consisting of professional vows that underscore patient confidentiality, medical ethics and community service. The oath also disavows euthanasia: “I will give no drugs for deadly purposes to any person, though it be asked of me.”
Alexis Boundas said she envisioned being a doctor from early childhood in the Chicago area, watching her younger sibling receiving ongoing care for a neurological disorder. Prior to her search for a medical school, she worked as a patient care technician in an emergency room. For her own practice, she set her sights on a warmer climate and found the Mesilla Valley much to her liking. “I hate the cold weather. To be brutally honest, I only applied to schools south of Tennessee,” she said. “I love that I can go hiking pretty much any day I want. I’m a big outdoors girl.”
Alessandro Vasquez not only grew up in Las Cruces, but was an alumnus of Centennial returning for his white coat ceremony. “I always wanted to be a doctor, and I had a really good doctor as a kid,” he said. “As I grew older, I started to see the need for more physicians here in Las Cruces, and the southwest area in general.”
Following the ceremony, as the students made their way toward a group photo as the class of 2028, Hummer remained on the floor, chatting with students but even more so with visiting parents and family members.
“What you sense is just a lot of love and pride, of accomplishment,” he said. “We have a fair number of first-generation college graduates. You can just imagine, not only being a first-generation college graduate, but going into medical school – just tremendous pride.”
