Pepperdine College of Health Science Inducts New Students During Inaugural Student Dedication Ceremony

On Friday, September 5, 2025, Pepperdine University’s College of Health Science held its Student Dedication Ceremony, where a total of 94 undergraduate and graduate students received their white coats or caps and were inducted into the first cohorts of the college’s School of Nursing and School of Speech-Language Pathology.

“At Pepperdine we are directed to ‘love our neighbors as ourselves,’ guided by the example of Jesus, and so our view of healthcare is one of both ministry and calling,” said Jay Brewster, Pepperdine University’s provost, at the outset of the ceremony. “As we welcome these talented students into a transformational new chapter of their lives, may all of us—students, faculty, staff, and friends alike—remember that these men and women are not just embarking on careers, they are answering a call to serve. A call to minister to others, to work diligently, and to uplift lives.”

During the event, each of the students received his or her own individual white cap—as nursing candidate—or white coat—as a speech-language pathology candidate—emblazoned with the Pepperdine College of Health Science logo. Throughout their educational training, students’ cap and coat will serve as a symbol of their steadfast dedication to the healthcare field. For Pepperdine, this initial step into the medical profession also represents their goal of emulating the healing ministry of Christ.

“Ministering to the sick and infirm is a direct call from God, and the students gathered here today are answering that call,” said Pepperdine president Jim Gash (JD '93) during his remarks at the event. “What a brave thing that is, to take up a career, a calling, where they know they will always be putting the good of others before their own.”

In addition to their white coat or cap, students received a Bible and words of encouragement from the founding dean of the School of Speech-Language Pathology, Leah Fullman, and the founding dean of the School of Nursing, Angel Coaston. 

Tia Raymond (’92), an alumna of Seaver College and a practicing pediatrician and cardiologist, delivered the keynote address.

“Today, as you receive your coats, your caps, and your Bibles, remember that you are not just being marked as future professionals,” said Raymond. “You are being entrusted with the sacred privilege of caring for others at their most vulnerable moments.”

The program concluded as students took their oath as healthcare professionals In a unified chorus, members of the first cohort of Pepperdine’s College of Health Science pledged to: “Advocate for and protect the health, safety, and rights of each patient; and view every patient as a child of God, created in His image,” along with fulfilling their other duties.

“This is a symbolic moment,” said Daniel Shenouda, a College of Health Science nursing student who received his white cap at the ceremony. “Going through this inauguration process, receiving my cap today, it is just now hitting me. Wow, I'm really here.”

Going forward from this event, students will study and train to become active speech-language pathologists or nurses at the University’s new state-of-the-art College of Health Science campus in Calabasas, California. Complete with simulated exam and operating rooms, welcoming third spaces, and a growing library, the new learning center is equipped to holistically prepare future practitioners to treat their patients with excellence in the field.

Pepperdine’s College of Health Science was launched after a two-year process overseen by its founding dean, Michael Feltner. Feltner, the former dean of Seaver College and a professor of sports medicine, reflected on the momentous occasion of the school’s first student dedication ceremony.

“I am proud to be leading a college dedicated to developing Christ-centered, skilled, and caring healthcare professionals who seek to lead while serving our communities and the world,” he said. “I am confident we have created a college that rightly shines the light of Pepperdine so that God is glorified.”