Photos by Todd Brown

The White Coat Ceremony is the first major milestone of a pharmacy student’s educational journey, and it officially welcomes them into the profession of pharmacy. The University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy celebrated this ceremony, with comments from School of Pharmacy Dean Steve Swanson and alumni including Pharmacy Alumni Association President-elect Janet Fritsch (BS ’87), Pharmacy Alumni Association President Jason Lau (PharmD ’01), and the 2020 Young Alumnus of the Year Maria Wopat (PharmD ’10). PharmD students shared their voices, too, with speakers Michael Nome (third-year PharmD student), president of the Wisconsin Society of Pharmacy Students (WSPS); Taylor Lueder (third-year PharmD student) and Abby Opsal (second-year PharmD student), professionalism co-chairs of WSPS; and Laura Seitz (third-year PharmD student), who helped organize the event.

The white coats they’re given during the ceremony, and will wear throughout their four years in pharmacy school during clinical rotations, wouldn’t be possible without the generous donations of School of Pharmacy alumni and friends.