Welcome to Drexel University’s Elkins Park Campus White Coat Ceremony, where students in our Doctor of Optometry, Doctor of Audiology, Master of Science in Clinical Optometry, and Master of Science in Orthotics and Prosthetics degree programs receive the symbol of their professions – the white coat.
This ceremony is always a time of excitement and anticipation for everyone present: our faculty, staff, and the newest members of the extended Drexel family – our students, their families, and friends. The white coat is tangible proof that our students have truly begun their professional journey.
Our more than a century-long legacy of excellence and leadership continues as we maintain and increase higher standards in education and clinical proficiency for the professions we serve.
Founded in 1919 as the Pennsylvania State College of Optometry (PSCO), the institution was renamed the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) in 1964. In 2008, PCO established Salus University, and its merger with Drexel University was formalized in 2025 to establish Drexel’s Elkins Park Campus.
This is a day of great pride for everyone involved, and we hope you will join us in this celebration of your student’s achievements. As they take their Oath of Professionalism today, which symbolizes an additional step in their professional journey, please listen to the words of the oath. They are the same words your graduate will repeat at commencement. It is a tradition here to invite all health care professionals in the audience to join our students in reciting the oath at both the White Coat ceremony and at commencement.
Congratulations to the families and friends of our students – your support and encouragement had a great deal to do with getting them here. We welcome you as the newest members of the Drexel community.
Congratulations to the Doctor of Audiology Class of 2029, Doctor of Optometry Accelerated Scholars Class of 2028, Doctor of Optometry Traditional Class of 2029, Doctor of Optometry Advanced Placement, Master of Science in Clinical Optometry, and the Master of Science in Orthotics and Prosthetics Class of 2028 students. We are proud to witness this special occasion and wish each of you well in the exciting, challenging, and rewarding journey you begin today.
Master of Ceremonies and Introduction of Keynote Speaker
Elizabeth Moy
Associate Vice Provost, Elkins Park Campus Operations and Strategy Drexel University, Elkins Park Campus
Keynote Speaker
Elisabeth Van Bockstaele, PhD
Senior Vice Provost of Graduate Education, Enrollment and Strategy
Elisabeth Van Bockstaele, PhD, serves as Senior Vice Provost of Graduate Education, Enrollment and Strategy at Drexel providing enterprise-wide leadership for graduate, professional, and doctoral education across on-campus, hybrid, and online modalities. Previously, she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, leading implementation of the Drexel 2030 Strategic Plan and helping guide the successful merger of Salus University into Drexel. She also served as President of
Drexel University Online and Senior Vice President for Graduate and Online Education, where she oversaw significant growth in online graduate net tuition revenue. Earlier roles include Vice Provost for Graduate Education, Dean of the Graduate College, and Founding Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies in the College of Medicine. She is a tenured professor in the College of Medicine at Drexel.
Prior to joining Drexel, she was a tenured professor, founding director of the PhD program in Neuroscience and vice chair for research in the Department of Neurological Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University. The graduate neuroscience program Dr. Van Bockstaele founded at Jefferson was the first interdisciplinary, non–department–based graduate program at the University. She oversaw the development of a curriculum that bridged basic and clinical neuroscience and engaged clinicians in didactic coursework and as mentors of doctoral-level graduate students.
Beginning in 1994 as an assistant professor of neuroscience at Weill Cornell University Medical College in NYC, Dr. Van Bockstaele's research has been continually funded by NIH, NSF and foundations. Her research has focused on the neural mechanisms underlying substance use disorders, with particular emphasis on how stress-related systems interact with brain circuits involved in addiction, vulnerability, and relapse. Data collected in her laboratory has been published in more than 250 peer-reviewed papers, symposium proceedings, reviews and book chapters and has helped illuminate the ways in which chronic stress and maladaptive neural adaptations contribute to the development and persistence of addictive behaviors.
She has received awards for championing graduate education and her mentorship of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. She has been a member of, or chaired, several standing NIH study sections, fellowship study sections, as well as center grant and program project reviews. She has also held various leadership positions in the Society for Neuroscience, the world's largest organization of scientists devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system.
Dr. Van Bockstaele received her PhD and master's degrees in neurobiology from New York University, with a minor in biochemistry and molecular biology, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Weill Cornell University Medical College before joining the faculty there. She is a 2010 graduate of Drexel University College of Medicine's Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® program for women.
Presentation of White Coats
Announced by James M. Caldwell, OD, EdD, FAAO
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer
Associate Teaching Professor
Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Drexel University, Elkins Park Campus
College of Nursing and Health Professions
Osborne Audiology Program
Bre Myers, AuD, PhD, CH-AP, FNAP, Assistant Dean – Foundations
Jonette B. Owen, AuD, MHA, FNAP, CH-AP, Associate Dean – Clinical Education
Lindsay Bondurant, PhD, CCC-A, Associate Professor, Director – Pennsylvania Ear Institute
Orthotics and Prosthetics Program
Allison Bressler, MS, CPO/L, Instructor
Jacalyn Harris, MPO, CPO/L, Instructor
Virginia Muthard, CPO/L, Assistant Professor
College of Medicine
Master of Science in Clinical Optometry Program
Melissa A. Vitek, OD, EdD, FAAO, Dean of Global, Interprofessional, and Specialized Programming
Pennsylvania College of Optometry
Accelerated Scholars Optometry Program
Lauren White, OD, MSHS, FAAO, Co-director, Doctor of Optometry/Accelerated Scholars Program
Michelle Britchkow, OD, FAAO, Co-director, Doctor of Optometry/Accelerated Scholars Program
Advanced Placement Optometry Program
Melissa A. Vitek, OD, EdD, FAAO, Director, Advanced Placement Doctor of Optometry Program
Traditional Optometry Program
Maria Armandi, OD, Assistant Professor
Stephanie Leburg, OD, FAAO, Assistant Professor, Chief of Service, Primary Care, The Eye Institute
Jeffrey Nyman, OD, FAAO, Associate Professor, Staff, The Eye Institute
Doctor of Audiology – Class of 2029
Marina Abdalla
Sheila Dooley
Sofia Gutierrez
Madelyn Hertzog
Megan Prendergast
Bridget Reape
Taelor-Shanel Sanders
Alexys Santiago
Master of Science in Orthotics and Prosthetics – Class of 2028
Anna Thanasi
Varsha Thomas
Alex Torian
Riley Walker
Gianna Bartolomei
Colin Curtin
Mariah Flores
Rebecca Hanoka
Syeda Jafri
Laci Lien
Grace Pekala
Sarah Ritter
Master of Science in Clinical Optometry – Class of 2026
Asmita Adhikari
Ricardo Delgado
Patricia Ramirez Rojas
Akadet Thonhongsa
Ke Yi
Tianyue Zhang
Doctor of Optometry Accelerated Scholars – Class of 2028
Aram AlAfif
Mary Teresa Argonza
Sanjida Azad
Mena Cheema
Emilia Davis
Sofia Flaten
Taryn Geiger
Jaimie Isaac
Noor Musharraf
Diane Nguyen
Diya Patel
Tommy Rutkowski
Doctor of Optometry Traditional – Class of 2029
Ahmed Aldwiri
Lila Amer
Shree Amin
Drew Anderson
Katherine Anderson
Kevin Aninta
Qarsim Aslam
Betelehim Asres
Michael Babayev
Josie Baldwin
Giuseppe Bentrovato
Taege Benware
Carlos Cabrera
Chinonye Charles-Obi
Rima Chaudhari
Millena Chirillo
Kaelin Conover
Charlie Croteau
Veera Dhaliwal
Abby Dizon
Brandon Drexler
Rewees Ebrahim
Lillian Eom
Jazmin Flores
Ciara Gilbert
Jenna Gleason
Marshall Gonsalves
Kerigan Guerrette
Michelle Ha
Samantha Hadeed
John Hare
Jacob Haynes
Tyler Helbig
Melissa Hoxha
Sarah Ibrahim
Michael Idem
Maria Jerez Morillo
Benjamin Kall
Aidan Kelly
Gurman Khangura
Caroline Kirn
Jaylah Knowles
Rebecca Korol
Joanna Koshy
Bella Sallée
Ashton Scott
Kittana Tran
Lucy Sheridan
Nadia Sufian
Arthik Sundralingam
Abby Taylor
Michelle Kozinets
Katie L'Herminier
Kylie Laude
Anson Lee
Michael Lee
Vinnie Lin
Ethan Ludwig
Victoria Lushnikov
Emma Marsho
Veronica Martinez
Jacob Mason
Mason Mcallister
Imani McIntosh
Richard Medina
Michelle Mei
Lauren Miller
Andrew Minnich
John Monasevitch
Sydney Mortimer
Anthony Mundanchira
Cat Anh Nguyen
Lori Nguyen
Faith Ni
Olivia Nice
Maryjane Olaguna
Tegan Ostroski
Enzo Ottaviani
Anthony Panuccio
Bhakti Patel
Kangana Patel
Khushi Patel
Krishna Patel
Meghan Paul
Oscar Pena
Joshua Po
Courtney Purks
Leah Sakhan
Anthony Scardina
Ashley Seo
Salina Shafi
Ashley Sheidy
Daniel Shen
Mohinur Sobirova
Aneesha Sohi
Landon Steinly
Yosefa Streete
Tawni Sugita
Aydan Summers
Amelia Swan
Swetha Thampan
TeNeille Tinsley
Alex Tobias
Doctor of Optometry Advanced Placement – Class of 2029
Xiao Chen
Farris Ghraibi
Kiran Pandit
Oath to Professionalism
With full deliberation I freely and solemnly pledge that:
Tayra Torres
Katelyn Tu
Kelli Turner
Saul Vasquez
Nayeli Villa Ortiz
Sharon Wang
Daniella Yagudayev
Mahnoor Younas
Bin Ya Zhang
Mikel Zotka
Wilton Zuniga
I will practice the art and science of my chosen profession faithfully and conscientiously, and to the fullest scope of my competence.
I will uphold and honorably promote by example and action the highest standards, ethics and ideals of my chosen profession.
I will provide professional care for those who seek my services, with concern, with compassion and with due regard for their human rights and dignity without discrimination.
I will place the treatment of those whom I serve above personal gain and strive to see that none shall lack for proper care with their welfare my utmost concern.
I will maintain absolute confidentiality of all information provided by those who seek my services.
I will continuously strive to broaden my knowledge and skills to deliver all new and efficacious means to enhance my services.
I will do my utmost to serve my community, my country and humankind.
I hereby commit myself to be steadfast in the performance of this, my solemn oath and obligation
