Auburn University’s Harrison School of Pharmacy welcomed the Class of 2018 on Aug. 16 with a white coat ceremony.

Among the students taking party was Greenville native Anne Carol Branum.

Branum, the daughter of Glenn and Nancy Branum, is a 2011 graduate of Fort Dale Academy. She has attended Auburn University the last three years, completing her prerequisites for pharmacy school.

The white coat ceremony signifies the end of the Foundations of Pharmacy orientation week and the beginning of the four-year journey of pharmacy school. The presentation of their own white coats, used to recognize health care professionals throughout the world, represents the next crucial stage of a pharmacy student’s education in which they will actively engage with patients and other professionals.

“I consider it to be a privilege and honor to be the person that coats students on their arrival and hoods them when they graduate,” said HSOP Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs Paul Jungnickel. “The day of the white coat ceremony and graduation day are my two most favorite days on the HSOP’s academic calendar. Presenting the white coats to members of our entering class is especially meaningful to me and I enjoy sharing in this joyous time for our entering class.”

The Class of 2018 is made up of 149 students with 127 on the Auburn campus and 22 on the Mobile campus. The students come from 16 different states and nearly 40 different universities.