SLU-Madrid Celebrates 9th Annual White Coat Ceremony

by Isaiah Voss

As on the SLU-St. Louis campus, Class of 2026 Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing students in Madrid celebrate their transition from classroom study to clinical practice.

On Wednesday, Nov. 22, SLU-Madrid nursing faculty presented the symbolic white coats to 11 students.

Honored students are Sophie Astell, Morgan Degroot, Esther Gbloesse, Margaret Groth, Ian Kelley, Kiara Luna, Emily Macias, Reagan Manning, Jasmyne Melesio Montoya, Georgia Mingle and Jasmine Peterson.

Henrietta Buckley, M.S.N., Tania de la Fuente, Ph.D., John Longeway, M.S.N. and Martha Nelson, Ph.D. celebrated their students' success during the ceremony, marking a milestone in the sophomores' education.

Students wearing white coats and faculty members read from pieces of paper at the front of an auditorium.

Nursing students citing oath during the ceremony. Photo by Ángel García.

Karen M. Cuvar, Ph.D., program coordinator for the Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing on the SLU-St. Louis campus, gave a formal welcome via Zoom on behalf of the nursing school. "I'm so thankful for you to have SLU represented in this momentous occasion in your lives," she said.

Miguel Luis Guillen Álvarez, a professor and doctor, from Universidad Complutense de Madrid spoke about the duties expected of nurses in Spanish. He called the profession a "therapeutic encounter" that requires helping both healthy and ill patients according to their needs.

Student speaker Esther Gbloesse reflected on her journey to SLU in an emotionally moving speech. "I see nursing as a humbling and rewarding career," she told her classmates.

Campus Co-Director for Academics (Interim) Francisco García-Serrano, Ph.D. congratulated students and emphasized the "hospitality" present in hospital settings. Afterward, students took the health care profession's oath.

The White Coat Ceremony is an annual celebration that speaks to the School of Nursing's commitment to quality healthcare for all. It also reflects Saint Louis University's Catholic, Jesuit identity and mission.

The cloaking of white coats on the other side of the Atlantic echoes SLU-Madrid's commitment to health care education abroad.

Learn More About SLU-Madrid's Department of Health Sciences, Nursing and Public Health