Jonesboro, AR — (Contributed) — Aug. 2, 2025 — New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University (NYITCOM at A-State) celebrated a milestone Saturday as the medical school welcomed its tenth class to the Jonesboro campus with its annual White Coat Ceremony.

The NYITCOM at A-State Class of 2029 was honored Saturday morning at an event held at A-State’s Fowler Center as the group of 124 future physicians received their medical white coats in a ceremony that has become a rite of passage for incoming medical students.

“We are extremely proud of the impact our campus has made over our first decade in Arkansas, and we’re excited about how this most recent class will build on those successes and make a difference in healthcare and health education in this part of the country where the needs are so significant,” said Dr. Shane Speights, dean of NYITCOM at A-State.

NYITCOM faculty members coat many of the incoming students, but those with a physician in their immediate family are invited to have their relative join them on stage for the ceremony.

Jonesboro native Ashley Lamkin was among those who took advantage of that special opportunity as she was coated by her father, Dr. Tony Lamkin, a wound care specialist with St. Bernards Healthcare.

“It means a lot to me to have my dad coat me because he has been my hero for a very long time,” Ashley Lamkin said. “Being able to follow in his footsteps and do the same thing as him is a really big deal for me. He cares so much about his patients, and he’s exactly the kind of physician I want to be.”

Saturday’s ceremony also included the presentation of the third-annual Dr. Michael and Julie Isaacson Scholarship, which was established in 2023 to help support students who are from specific Arkansas counties and are interested in ultimately practicing in a medically underserved community in the state.

Student Doctors Gracie Fulks of Jonesboro and Gage West of Stuttgart were honored as this year’s recipients of the scholarship, which is funded by a gift from the Sidney and Mary Ann Arnold Foundation.

NYITCOM at A-State was established in 2016 as a private-public partnership between New York Institute of Technology and Arkansas State University with a pointed focus of training physicians to help alleviate the significant physician shortage facing Arkansas and the Greater Mississippi Delta region.

The college’s tenth class is comprised of students from 23 different states and two U.S. territories with more than half coming from Arkansas, a targeted Delta state, or a state contiguous to Arkansas.