Ceremony Brings the School's Inaugural Class Together
The 51猎奇入口Stephens Family School of Medicine鈥檚 inaugural class of 48 students marked an important milestone on August 28, coming together with family and friends, faculty, staff and members of the 51猎奇入口community for the Ceremony of Welcome and Witnessing.
51猎奇入口President Joy Johnson, along with naming donors Ratana and Arran Stephens, joined the celebration to welcome the students and mark this important transition in their medical education.
The ceremony followed a month of orientation, during which students built relationships with one another, the school and the communities they will serve. Four students from the inaugural cohort who served as witnesses on the cohort鈥檚 first day at the Katzie Longhouse in Pitt Meadows took to the stage to share what they had seen, heard and felt throughout the month.
Kohlton Tapp, one of the four student witnesses, reflected on how the month brought the cohort together: 鈥淲e weren't simply waiting for medical school to begin. We were building the foundation for it," he said. "Every conversation, every activity and every moment we shared gave us an opportunity to learn about one another, to listen, to laugh and to understand the person sitting next to us. And somewhere along the way, 48 people who started this journey as strangers began to form a community. And there's something pretty special about that.鈥�
As students prepared to begin their formal classes in September, the ceremony marked this transition in a way that reflects the school鈥檚 commitment to Indigenous learning and relationships. Rather than receiving traditional white coats, students were gifted cedar headbands.
Cedar holds deep significance in many Indigenous cultures and is used in important ceremonies and transitions. For the students, the cedar headbands represent protection and the strength of the community surrounding them as they begin their medical education.
The ceremony marked a meaningful beginning for the school鈥檚 inaugural class. Together, they now move forward into the next chapter of their medical education, carrying with them the relationships, experiences and lessons that have shaped their first month as a cohort.
