The moment was finally here.

After completing the didactic portion of their education, 63 members of the Doctor of Physical Therapy Class of 2026 walked across the stage Friday and put on their white coats for the very first time at the Katherine Harris White Coat Ceremony on Quinnipiac’s North Haven Campus.

The cloaking ceremony, a DPT tradition that began at Quinnipiac in 2021, represents the unwavering commitment to patients and the unabated pursuit of healthcare excellence.

For Tracy Wall, PT, PhD, interim chair of the Department of Physical Therapy, the ceremony was the perfect platform to highlight these students and their accomplishments.

For Ken Kosior, EdD, PT, MPT, ATC, new associate dean of clinical education and partnerships, it was the perfect opportunity to offer some professional advice.  

“I spend a lot of time in the workforce now, and the thing that stands out about Quinnipiac graduates is their clinical excellence and their compassion for the work that they do,” said Kosior. “It's a high bar to hold, but you’re up for the challenge, so there are three things that I want to share with you as you get ready to go out into these final steps.”

• Stay connected: “You're now part of over 3,000 Quinnipiac physical therapy alumni as you finish your clinicals and move into professional practice. Staying connected allows you to open doors for new opportunities and professional growth.”

• Give back: “This quick celebration is just one example of how you’ve given back. Continue to give back to your profession, to your community, to QUPT. Fifty-one plus years of excellence doesn’t happen without alumni who are compassionate and give back.”

• Continue to learn: “This is just a part of the journey — not the end, not the beginning, but somewhere in the middle, so continue to learn.” 

Keynote speaker Deirdre McPartland ’17, DPT ’20, PT, DPT, also addressed the students. She’s a partner and clinical director at Spear Physical Therapy in Astoria, Queens, in New York City. After starting her career as a staff therapist, McPartland has quickly become a leader and role model in the profession.

“You are so close to accomplishing graduating with your doctorate in physical therapy. I hope you are all insanely proud of yourselves,” McPartland said. “I hope you also remember these amazing and amazingly hard three years that you all just spent together.

“Some of my best friends to this day are my PT school friends,” she added. “You go through so much together, laughing, crying, hours in the cadaver lab and study rooms, and countless Fridays at Eli’s to offset all the other work we put in that week.”

McPartland also encouraged the Class of 2026 to think about the future as they prepare to start their physical therapy careers.

“What impact do you want to make? What impact do you want to make on your team? What impact do you want to make on your patients?” she asked. “Never forget the answers to those questions. Go back to them when you've had a long day or a long week. ... I want you to think about the ways you're going to make sure you make that impact every day.

“And what would I have wanted to hear sitting in your seats right now? That it’s going to be OK. You’re going to be OK,” McPartland said. “And you’re not just going to be OK. You’re going to thrive.”

Katherine Grevelding, PT, EdD, DPT, LAT, ATC, was the faculty speaker for the Class of 2026. She looked out into the faces of smiling students sitting in those nine rows, all surrounded by the love of family, friends, alumni and professors.

“I've always learned to always look for the good, and I'm telling you right now, I'm looking at the good in front of me. Thank you for being the compassionate leaders that you are every day,” Grevelding said. “For all the families in the room and those watching, I know I'm not sharing anything new with you.

“You've heard versions of this good story before because you know the caring souls that sit here together in this room,” she added. “You've seen their altruism. You've listened to their dreams. You’ve helped them learn from their doubts and grow from their challenges. And I thank you for sharing them with us.”

Kristina Rossignoll, SPT, the Class of 2026’s student speaker, reflected on the community these students built from the ground up when the sky was the limit.  

“When our cohort entered this program three years ago, we were all terrified,” Rossignoll said. “Some 3+3 students, some 4+3 students and some 18 students — all with different friends, all with different personalities, some quiet, some loud, and some even scared of others when we walked into the classroom in 244.

“We walked into class pretending we were confident, whispering about our anxiety, and thinking about what our classmates thought of us, not knowing if we could handle the coursework, not knowing if we could handle the labs, or the endless studying that was in our future,” Rossignoll said. “This ended up bonding us in ways that many people wouldn’t understand, and we all knew what the greatest school was.”

So did everyone else in this overflowing auditorium, including three students who received awards.

Emily Plichta, SPT, read the “Significance of the White Coat” and received the Mark F. Tantorski Scholarship Award. Marissa Frazier, SPT, and Laura Fletcher, SPT, were the recipients of the Gaylord Specialty Healthcare Scholarship Awards.

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