Stepping into professionalism












Images of professionalism






Above is a photo slideshow featuring images from recent White Coat ceremonies for the UNMC College of Nursing and School of Allied Health Professions. Double click on the individual images to see captions and other photo information. (Photos by Dan Brick, Diane Feldman, Bobbi Hartshorn and Chuck Brown)




New students from the UNMC College of Nursing and School of Allied Health Professions took part in White Coat ceremonies across the state recently. During the ceremonies, students donned white coats and took oaths of professionalism that signified the beginning of their health careers.

The UNMC College of Nursing held its Nightingale White Coat Ceremonies in Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney and Scottsbluff on Jan. 16, to recognize 123 new nursing students.

The UNMC School of Allied Health Professions held its white coat ceremony Jan. 9, to recognize 43 new physical therapy students.

Donations from UNMC alumni helped pay for the white coats students received. The students will wear the coats until they graduate.

Listed below are the corresponding colleges, hometowns and names of the students who participated.

UNMC College of Nursing (Omaha)

  • Alma – Samantha Nelsen
  • Chadron – Erica Parish
  • Columbus – Emilie Gausman, Kimberly Whalen
  • Harvard – Amanda Cecilio
  • Hastings – Ashley Murphy
  • Lexington – Amanda Longly
  • Lincoln – Anna Melvin, Anita Soto, Allison Varilek, Claire McGowan
  • North Platte – Kyle Brauer
  • Omaha – Jonathan Crosson, John Harnisch, Kellyn Kramolisch, Amy Mead, Elizabeth Meyers, Kristina Andresen, Jennifer Baehr, Audreya Comes, Nicholas Contryman, Kimberly Dizona, Chelsea Huntington, Patrina Johnson, Peter Landmark, Adele Love, Christopher Morehouse, Jessica Morris, Alexander Quint, Lucas Thomsen
  • Platte Center – Amanda Kuhr
  • Wakefield – Kristi Schroeder
  • Wilcox – Emily Harms
  • Wisner – Heather Fullner

  • Loveland, Colo. – Jessica Jenkins
  • Onawa, Iowa – Amanda Bogard
  • Alton, Iowa – Heather Schneider
  • Council Bluffs, Iowa – Sarah Higgins
  • Oakland, Iowa – Mary Kalb
  • West Des Moines, Iowa – Aric Thalman
  • Downers Grove, Ill. – Sarah Broker
  • Round Lake, Minn. – Pamela Bonofede
  • Shaw, Miss. – Canelda Perry

  • Germany – Sabine Clapper
  • Mexico – Anamari Boswell, Maribel Martinez
  • Takjikistan – Farrukh Usmonov
  • Thailand – Wattana Barrett

UNMC College of Nursing Lincoln Division

  • Ashland – Mckayla Clark
  • Aurora – Lisa Havick
  • Beatrice – Chelsey Cozine
  • Ceresco – Amanda Shultz
  • Clarks – Holly Engel
  • Columbus – Hilary Brewer
  • Doniphan – Karah Muckel
  • Gretna – Ian Neff
  • Ithaca – Aaron Bartek
  • Lincoln – Amanda Hamik, Serena Schweitzer, Meagan Goodman, Brenna Lowrey
  • McCook – Julie Howard
  • North Platte – Katy Nelson
  • Omaha – Erin Schrunk
  • Scottsbluff – Lacey Chlopek
  • Syracuse – Nicole Wenzel

  • St. Petersburg, Fla. – Victoria Robison
  • Des Moines, Iowa – Brandon Bowles
  • Rolling Prairie, Ind. – Lindsey Bostock
  • Hagerstown, Md. – Douglas Gatz
  • Houston, Texas – Carly Dittenber

UNMC College of Nursing Kearney Division

  • Ansley – Angela Jameson
  • Bellevue – Heather Barber
  • Bertrand – Brittney Barnes
  • Geneva – Brianna Dohrman
  • Grand Island – Melanie Olsufka, Chelsea Wessel
  • Hastings – Kelsey Henkel
  • Henderson – Melissa Hiebner
  • Imperial – Christine Elder, Jaclyn Liewer
  • Kearney – Nathan Klaus, Autumn Trimble, Maria Zink
  • Lexington – Nancy De Santiago, Mandy Taylor
  • Madison – Brenda DeLeon
  • McCook – Jennifer Chmiel, Nicole Felker
  • Murdock – Nicole Backemeyer
  • North Platte – Jeana James
  • Weston – Ashley Brazda
  • Wellington, Colo. – Sadie Burns
  • Kathmandu – Sunita Subedi

UNMC College of Nursing West Nebraska Division (Scottsbluff)

  • Bayard – Cassandra Jimenez
  • Bridgeport – Jessica Velazquez
  • Chappell – Rebecca Peters
  • Dannebrog – Jamissa Davis
  • Gering – Jeffrey Johnson, Brittny Smith
  • Grand Island – Seth Reher, Mollie Seim
  • Gurley – Rebecca Dodge
  • Hay Springs – Amy Bond
  • Henry – Lee Martin
  • Hyannis – Jared Sibbitt
  • Imperial – Janette Davidson
  • Kearney – Kara Jarzynka
  • Lincoln – Duong Hoang, Samantha Moline, Christopher Wiles
  • McCook – Kelsey Lyster
  • Norfolk – Susan Samuels
  • North Platte – Joslynne Simpson
  • Paxton – Bette Fisher

  • Fresno, Calif. – Trisha Magnuson
  • Arvada, Colo. – Kayla Houser
  • Colorado Springs, Colo. – Amanda Penzes
  • Fort Collins, Colo. – Tiffani Hammond, Megan Ries
  • Salt Lake City, Utah – Chantel Brewer
  • Lingle, Wyo. – Tara Rose
  • Torrington, Wyo. – Lori Fields

UNMC School of Allied Health Professions physical therapy students

  • Ashland – Ashley Gress
  • Auburn – Brandon Wehenkel
  • Bellevue – Airon Seitz, Beverlijane Shumaker
  • Cairo – Erika Hadenfelt
  • Central City – Bradley Dexter
  • Chadron – Matthew Janssen
  • Chappell – Margo Hardy
  • Elkhorn – Brianne Walbrecht
  • Fremont – Jami Redding
  • Fullerton – Jenny Rother
  • Grand Island – Laura Gnewuch
  • Hadar – Brett Kollars
  • Hastings – Amy Strand, Scott VanCura
  • Hay Springs – Lindsey Heiting
  • Lexington – Kelsey Roberts
  • Lincoln – Sarah Sedlak
  • Mitchell – Brant Loose
  • North Platte – Maressa Lee
  • Ogallala – Anna Budziszewska
  • Omaha – Ann Christiansen, David Fredericks, Crystal Hollatz, Elizabeth Pavlik, Mark Shearer, Jill Smolczyk
  • Paxton – Joshua tenBensel
  • Schuyler – Chad Doerneman
  • Shelton – Krista Hannon
  • Sidney – Allyson Malzahn
  • St. Edward – Joshua Fitchner
  • St. Paul – Amy Brenden
  • Tilden – Deniece Petersen
  • Valley – Jeffrey Foster
  • York – Caitlin Demuth
  • Cupertino, Calif. – Margaret Rauth
  • Davis, Calif. – Andrea Bowen
  • Sioux City, Iowa – Chad Jacobson
  • Garden City, Kan. – Hailey Mireles
  • Volga, S.D. – Leslie Kleinjan
  • Casper, Wyo. – Dustin Davidson