352 students began their journey toward their medical degrees Saturday.

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine held two White Coat Ceremonies at the Warner Theatre.

Students from both the school of pharmacy and podiatric medicine took the right of passage into the professional world of medicine in the morning, and students from the college of medicine, received their white coats in an afternoon ceremony.

This is LECOM’s 28th White Coat Ceremony after 31 years of educating students.

“This is that moment when they kind of make a covenant of the patient they haven’t even seen yet that they are going to be there for them, that they are going to do their best everyday to learn, to grow, to excel and getting to watch that commitment and the college recommit to giving them the outstanding education that they need to be able to accomplish that, that’s an awesome day,” said Kevin A. Thomas, D.O., assistant dean of institutional enrollment management in clinical education at LECOM.

Walgreen’s provided all of the white for for pharmacy students while the Pennsylvania Osteopathic medical Association provided white coats and stethoscopes for all podiatric medicine and college of medicine students.