More than 200 students participated in the ceremony and marked the beginning of entering medical school.

Boisterous cheers rang throughout the Temple Performing Arts Center on Aug. 7 as hundreds of students participated in the Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine Class of 2030 White Coat Ceremony. 

This year’s entering class includes 226 new students—183 for the North Philadelphia campus and 43 for the St. Luke’s Regional Campus. One hundred and six students are Pennsylvania residents, and 14 students earned their undergraduate degrees from Temple University. 

The students heard an inspiring message from keynote speaker Joel Boyd, MED ’84, an orthopedic surgeon and longtime team physician for the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, who also served as team physician for the 2026 Gold Medal-winning USA Men’s Hockey team. 

“I will start by saying to each of you, none of you arrived at this moment in time – this place - by chance, luck, or nepotism or DEI,” he told the students. 

“You have arrived at this place through determination, focus, a willingness and a desire to help humankind.” 

During his address, Boyd reflected on the Declaration of Geneva oath, how Temple provided the framework for his career and the evolving medical landscape. 

“Today’s oath, the Declaration of Geneva of 1948, frames our modern-day commitment to humanity, to each other, as physicians and to our own well-being so we can help others,” he stated 

“There will be tough days ahead, with death comes sadness and there will also be joyous days at the beginning to new life or life extended.” 

“It’s difficult to hang on to good days, and it’s way too easy to dwell on tough ones,” Boyd continued. 

He ended his presentation by encouraging the students to leave the place where they land better than when they arrived, be kind to patients and colleagues, and have empathy.

Amy J. Goldberg, the Marjorie Joy Katz dean of Katz, provided some pertinent advice as she addressed the students. 

“No matter what is occurring in the patient’s life, or your life or in the world, when you are with a patient, the patient is at the center,” she said. 

“Commit to that rule, internalize it and it will give you strength and focus.” 

“Being a doctor is what you have chosen to do,” Goldberg continued. "Being a caring, feeling, humane person is who you choose to be. You are the next generation, and you will move medicine forward.” 

Gretchen Diemer, senior associate dean of education at Katz, addressed the ceremony’s importance. 

“The White Coat ceremony represents the official beginning to medical school, a kind of inauguration into the medical profession, acknowledging the foundational commitment to humanism, ethics and patient care,” she stated.

During the ceremony, students were presented with their white coats, while their family and friends looked on with pride and cheered. 

This pride was apparent when Dan DiSandro and Kathleen Bradley-DiSandro, MED ‘’93, coated their daughter, Erin DiSandro. Their son, Daniel DiSandro is in his fourth year of studying medicine at Katz. 

“Watching our son guide our daughter through the process has been so gratifying as a parent and knowing that they are in the amazing hands of Temple is just so heartwarming,” said Kathleen Bradley-DiSandro. 

“In the back of your mind, you thought that maybe it’s a possibility, but it was never forced on them,” Dan DiSandro said of his children’s decision to pursue a career in medicine. 

“They came to this path on their own and we guided them along the way and it’s a perfect fit for them.” 

Erin DiSandro appreciates having the opportunity to pursue her passion and follow a path like her parents. 

“Just being able to follow in their footsteps and discuss things with them and understand things on a deeper level, I think will ultimately make me a better physician,” she said. 

“I feel like I’ve been working toward this my whole life and now the moment is finally here. “It’s a surreal moment. I’m very excited for the next four years and my career as a physician.” 

For Andrew Platt, being coated by his mother, Gretchen Platt, MED ’98, was an unforgettable experience. 

“My mother has made so many sacrifices for my brothers and I, so being able to see her experience the same joy that I was feeling was something that I will never forget,” Platt said of that heartfelt moment. 
“I really wanted to treat that as more of her moment than mines, because it’s truly full circle.” 

There were many variables that influenced Platt’s decision to become a doctor, including watching his parents, who are family practice physicians, treat underserved residents of Summerset, Pa. 

“Since going on home visits with them, that is really what I wanted to do, serve an underserved community,” he said. 

“That’s what Temple’s main mission is, serving the community of North Philadelphia, so it felt like a perfect fit for all of the variables.”