Alaska’s next generation of physicians recently took an important step on their medical journeys. On September 12, 2025, Alaska WWAMI celebrated its annual White Coat Ceremony, honoring first-year medical students as they officially enter the medical profession.
Family, friends, faculty, and mentors gathered to recognize the hard work and commitment that led each student to this moment. For many students, the ceremony was more than a symbolic milestone: it was a deeply personal expression of gratitude and purpose.
For student Evangeline Dooc of Anchorage, the event was an opportunity to reflect on the people and experiences that shaped her path toward medicine.
“I am grateful to have a marker to show my supporters that their efforts have gotten me through,” she said.
The guidance Dooc’s mother provided helped to cultivate her early passion for science.
“She fostered my love of science from additional home-schooling (learning about different mummification practices in various cultures), watching various doctor-mystery shows with me when I was little, and helping me attend a high school with a Biomedical Career Academy,” she added.
Years later, her mother’s health crisis became a turning point for Dooc, and for a time, she wasn’t sure her mom would be there to share this milestone with her.
“When she got sick and needed a (liver) transplant, I accepted the possibility that she might not be alive to see my med school ceremonies, so I am grateful she got to see it,” Evangeline said.
For Dooc, medicine has always been a calling — one rooted in compassion, family experience, and a desire to empower others.
“I want to support health for people so they can be empowered to live for amazing things in life,” she said. “Whether that’s art, engineering, travel or whatever brings them joy.”
While most Alaska WWAMI students were born and raised in Alaska, others, like Bhargavi Pochi, found their way to Alaska from the other side of the country. Originally from Miami, Florida, Pochi built her academic and professional life in Sitka, Alaska, over the past several years. For her, the White Coat Ceremony was a moment to pause and truly absorb how far she had come.
“As a non-traditional student, I never imagined myself as a doctor, until recently,” she said.
Since starting classes three months ago, she had little time to process that she had made it into medical school.
“Now, I am training to be a doctor!” Pochi said. “How crazy is that? The White Coat Ceremony gave me a moment to reflect on this journey and was a tangible expression of all the dedication, community support, and resilience it took to get to this point.”
Her brother traveled all the way from Florida to attend, a gesture that meant the world to her.
“Although I love Alaska and have lived here for quite some time now, I still feel the distance from my family, especially during big life events like this,” she said. “Having my brother travel so far for this was a nice reminder that I am not alone in this great big state!”
Pochi’s path to medicine began with a passion for public health, environmental science, and direct service, threads that wove together into a career in clinical care.
Serving her community in Sitka, Alaska, in roles ranging from working as a volunteer EMT, working at a women’s shelter, as a street medic, and as a therapeutic wilderness guide for teenagers, revealed to her how meaningful direct patient care could be. These experiences affirmed her calling to medicine.
“It was never one specific event or ‘aha!’ moment for me – it was a mix of all these experiences that led me to becoming a doctor,” Pochi added.
For both Pochi and Dooc, the White Coat Ceremony was more than a formality. It marked the beginning of their work as future physicians who carry with them the strength of their communities, families, and the unique spirit of Alaska.
Said Dooc, “I feel like medicine is the place that makes the most sense in my soul.”