CU Anschutz School of Medicine Welcomes Class of 2030 at Annual Matriculation Ceremony

A bright smile gleamed from Arike Coker on July 24 as she stepped onto a stage, surrounded by leaders in medicine, to accept a pristine white coat bearing the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine (search)Search term emblem. The coat represents years of hard work that led Coker to become one of 188 students accepted into the medical school's Class of 2030.

Cheers and applause echoed from the CU Anschutz campus as, one by one, each incoming first-year student accepted their white coat during the school's Matriculation Ceremony, an annual gathering that marks the official start of medical school training.

As a world-class medical destination and top-tier research institution, more than 10,440 people applied to the CU Anschutz School of Medicine this year. Collectively, the selected 188 students represent 30 states, including 91 Colorado residents, and 19 different countries.

"It is an extensive process to pick the very best class," said Dean John H. Sampson, MD, PhD, MHSc, MBA. "You have earned being here."

A 'Life-Changing Endeavor'

The Matriculation Ceremony is "a rite of passage" for medical students, Sampson explained, expressing how excited the clinicians, researchers, and educators are to welcome the newest class to CU Anschutz.

"We have created a curriculum here that I'm very proud of that encourages compassion through excellence," Sampson said. "We will give you the knowledge that you need, but you need to bring your heart."

By the time students complete the school's unique Trek Curriculum, which launched in 2021, they will be the "total package," he explained, as they will have trained at multiple medical institutions, helping care for veterans, children, adults, and vulnerable community members. Students will learn from top researchers who perform pivotal work, whether developing immunotherapies to cure patients of lethal cancers, conducting genetic research to create targeted therapies, or investigating the use of artificial intelligence in medicine.

"I don't believe that there's been a better time to enter the profession than now," said Jeffrey SooHoo, MD, MBA, associate dean of admissions and student affairs and a professor of ophthalmology. "More importantly, as our society has become increasingly polarized and less personal, physicians have the opportunity to increase the power of understanding and convey empathy."

"To the Class of 2030, you have the unique and privileged opportunity to reduce suffering and bridge divides," he added. "This may sound daunting, but it will be worth the effort, and we're grateful that you've committed to joining us in this life-changing endeavor."

The Value of a Stethoscope

Michael Carius, MD, president of the CU Anschutz Medical Alumni Association and a member of the Class of 1973, presented the incoming students with stethoscopes provided by alumni and friends of the school. The gift, an annual tradition, symbolizes the students' "inclusion into the timeless fraternity of physicians."

"In the over 200 years since stethoscopes were invented, they have symbolized trust, connection, and the physician-patient bond," Carius said. "Besides giving us critical clinical information, stethoscopes are a vital connection in our fast paced, and often stressful, clinical environments that allow us to slow down and literally listen to our patients."

'Patients Will Be Your Best Teachers'

Keynote speaker Arun Kannappan, MD, an associate professor of medicine specializing in pulmonary and critical care medicine, shared lessons learned from his own patients. He recounted caring for a renowned chef in his 50s who taught him that "being a doctor is more than prescribing some drugs and treatments."

"I spent most of our clinic visits just listening to him," Kannappan said. "You'll be there for your patients in their times of need to learn their stories, and you'll help them get back their lives."

Another patient, a man who almost died due to uncontrolled diabetes (search)Search disease, had avoided clinic visits for years after losing his job, teaching Kannappan that "not all patients start on an equal playing field, especially when it comes to health care, and you'll start to see ways in which you can level that field."

A 10-year-old boy with leukemia (search)Search disease surprised Kannappan by hitting him with a Nerf cannon hidden under his bed sheet during a hospital stay for chemotherapy. "Even in these difficult times for your patients and their loved ones, you will find those moments of joy and humor. There is healing in laughter," he said. "Your patients will be your best teachers."

Humanism and Gratitude

As part of the ceremony, 35 fourth-year students in the Class of 2027 were inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society, which recognizes individuals who are "extraordinary exemplars of humanistic patient care," said Steven Lowenstein, MD, MPH, professor emeritus and adjoint professor of emergency medicine and medicine.

Among the inductees, David Alexander and Allison Leigh presented the incoming class with gratitude journals created by medical students, physicians, faculty, and administrators. "This journey is a gift and a privilege," Leigh said. "You will become a witness to disease alongside patients — an immense responsibility and a profound privilege."

Alexander challenged the Class of 2030 to look for three moments of gratitude each day and record them. "Gratitude is positively linked to personal well-being and satisfaction and inversely correlated with burnout — an obstacle our profession routinely faces," Alexander said. "Our gratitude to be in medicine hasn't left us throughout our training, and we hope it inspires you as you begin yours."

A Student's Path to Medicine

Among the incoming class, Arike Coker, 23, from Miami, was inspired to pursue medicine after recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) sustained during a long jump practice in 2019. Her recovery, which spanned nearly a year and a half and was complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, was shaped by the care she received from her surgeon and physical therapists.

"There was a time where I couldn't really walk, I couldn't run, and I couldn't jump," Coker said. "My surgeon presented a care plan that showed me there's a future where my life could be better than it was before. I learned that it was not the end of my active lifestyle."

Coker chose CU Anschutz partly for its Rural Program, which sends medical students to rural hospitals in Colorado to complete clinical rotations. "Equity in care is something I've really been interested in, and I know Colorado does a lot of community outreach," she said. "I want to be a community physician. And coming to Colorado means I'll be studying somewhere that helps make me into the physician that I know I want to be."