Welcome Class of 2029!
The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine welcomed 155 students of the Class of 2029 in the annual White Coat ceremony on Friday, August 15.
In his opening remarks to the incoming class, Dean Mark Stetter celebrated the many late nights, exams and sacrifices that led them along this journey and to this milestone moment in their careers. He urged them to consider three words: blessed, lucky and privileged—words that reflected his feelings toward the newest members of the UC Davis veterinary medicine community.
“Wear your white coat with pride,” he said. “Let it remind you of both the journey behind you and the possibilities ahead.”
Stetter then introduced the alumni guest speaker, Dr. Sean Gadson ’21, who currently serves as the lead emergency veterinarian at a Veterinary Emergency Group clinic in Colorado. Gadson entertained the audience with photos displayed on the large screen behind the podium at various stages of his speech.
“Even before I started vet school, I never thought I would feel so fulfilled, challenged and rewarded by my career,” he said. “Vet school is going to open up an insane number of opportunities to you…and you have so much choice and power to make your career what you want it to be.”
He also urged them to be open to anything they find in the next four years that is slightly interesting. Over time, they will whittle it down to a few things to invest skills and knowledge into.
But make vet school part of who you are, not everything you are, he cautioned. Do everything you can to make the most of your life and build your career around your life, not the other way around.
Meet the Class of 2029!
He closed by sharing a video clip he had taken 10 minutes after he got the acceptance call from UC Davis. Although he called it cringy to watch now, his energy and enthusiasm in the video pumped up the crowd and brought lots of laughs.
SAVMA president Joanne Yaejin Seung, Class of 2027, provided remarks as well, and encouraged the students to connect with the network of more than 20,000 veterinary students worldwide.
“Remember to listen deeply, remain curious, and learn from the diverse perspectives around you,” Seung told them.
Dr. Karl Jandrey, associate dean of Admissions, then took the stage and in typical fashion, went off script. He urged the students to think of becoming a veterinarian as a “we” job, not a “me” job.
“We are better together when we practice team science and team medicine,” he said.
As the students filed across the stage to receive their white coats, Jandrey read off fun facts about each person, including: an expert in American Sign Language, a researcher in Alzheimer’s disease, a professional video game commentator, retired figure skater and coach, and competitive chef. For the second year in a row, more than 50% of the incoming class are first generation college students.
He concluded the event by announcing that his dog, Danson, was gifting each student with a new pair of socks emblazoned with the school logo on one side and TANAM on the other.
“TANAM stands for ‘there are no admissions mistakes.’ Remember that you belong here and will be be here to cheer you on.”
A recording of the event will be posted soon.