2026 USC Chan White Coat Ceremony

The USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy’s 2026 White Coat Ceremony formally celebrated the entrance of our incoming students into the occupational therapy profession on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026.

The keynote address was given by Esther Suh Kwon MA ’04, co-founder and executive director of Dwelle Collaborative – Qualified, the first OT-based non-profit to serve survivors of human trafficking. Michele Berro MA ’88, clinical manager of outpatient OT services at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, welcomed the students into the Trojan Family.

Date: Monday, Sept. 14, 2026
Time: 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. (Pacific Time)

Bovard Auditorium
USC University Park Campus
3551 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles

About

The White Coat Ceremony marks the beginning of one’s educational journey toward becoming an occupational therapy practitioner. Part of that journey is affirming the commitment to the values inherent to occupational therapy, and accepting the privilege and responsibility of helping others to lead fuller, more satisfying, more independent lives. At the White Coat Ceremony, new USC Chan students don a white coat as a symbolic commitment to upholding core professional values such as integrity, compassion and advocacy throughout their educational training and future careers.