Two hundred fourteen aspiring physicians took their first official step toward a medical career Friday, Aug. 7, when they received white coats at Midwestern University's Downers Grove campus.

The Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine's annual White Coat Ceremony capped a week of orientation for the incoming Class of 2030. Students walked across the stage one by one, many joined by family members who helped them slip on the coat for the first time.

Nearly half the class has local roots. Ninety-five of the 214 students are Illinois residents, according to Midwestern University. The rest come from 23 states and three countries, with California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Texas and Washington among the most represented states outside Illinois. The class averages 23 years old, and 57 percent are women.

Before the coats came out, the class recited an Oath of Commitment, pledging to respect their teachers, colleagues, patients and the health-care professionals who came before them.

Keynote speaker Bruce Wolf, D.O., a 1994 CCOM graduate and president-elect of the American Osteopathic Association, urged the new students to look beyond diagnoses.

"The art of osteopathic medicine is as much about understanding people as it is about diagnosing diseases," Wolf said.

Wolf currently serves as associate dean of the Macomb University Center and assistant professor of interventional radiology at Michigan State University.

CCOM Dean Thomas Boyle, D.O., addressed the families in attendance, telling them that their understanding of the extraordinary time and attention medical school demands would be a great help to the students.

Maggie DeGiorgio, a second-year CCOM student and Student Government Association president, drew on her own experience from one year earlier, encouraging the incoming class to build lasting friendships and lean on each other through the program.

The ceremony followed three days of orientation covering academic success, professional identity, career development and student involvement. During that week, the Class of 2030 also developed a shared vision statement and volunteered together at Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit that packs meals for children and families worldwide. The organization operates Illinois packing sites in Aurora, Libertyville and Schaumburg.

Classes for the new cohort began Monday, Aug. 10. In May 2026, the Downers Grove campus graduated 707 students across six commencement ceremonies, including 196 new doctors of osteopathic medicine from CCOM.