The Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy’s newest students were welcomed into the College community Aug. 20 at the school’s annual White Coat Ceremony in Belk Auditorium.

The P1s of the Class of 2025 not only were helped into their lab coats but also challenged to uphold the moral and ethical standards of their new community by pledging to adhere to the PC Honor Code and taking the school’s Pledge of Professionalism.

“The White Coat Ceremony is one that symbolically marks the entry of our newest students into the profession of pharmacy,” said Dr. Kurt Wargo, dean of the School of Pharmacy. “By donning their white coats, pharmacy students have the professional responsibilities that come with being a pharmacist. Our students will be held to a high standard of moral and ethical commitment to providing safe and effective medications for our patients.”

Dr. Matthew vandenBerg told P1s that, as the College’s new president, he, too, is beginning a journey with them at PC. But he promised them they would be welcomed as family and challenged them to also be a part of it.

“Remember that making a home involves not just taking but also giving,” he said. “Share with us your passion, your energy, your strengths, and your shortcomings. Share your hopes and aspirations with this community and we will all be better for it. To make PC home, we often remind ourselves of our motto: While We Live, We Serve.”

Dr. Missy O’Dell, the assistant director of pharmacy and clinical pharmacist at Patrick B. Harris Psychiatric Hospital in Anderson and a member of the pharmacy school’s first graduating class presented the new class with words of wisdom, enthusiastic encouragement, and a few challenges. The inaugural recipient of the PCSP Alumni of the Year award told students to get their white coats dirty.

“As you each receive your beautiful white coat, they will be crisp, clean, pristine and bright,” she said. “Think of this white coat as a clean slate. The next four years of your life will show up on this white coat. It will get dirty and wrinkled with the hard work you put into your lab classes and the rotations you go on. It may even need a little mending.

“Listen, some of y’all may even need a replacement. And Hallelujah. I pray all these things happen because this will be evidence of your learning, growth and experiences. It will show your fearlessness and dedication to join this great profession.”