NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine marked the beginning of 24 aspiring physicians’ careers in medicine at its White Coat Ceremony Friday.

The graduates come from all walks of life and have overcome many obstacles to achieve their dream of becoming doctors. But now, that dream is getting one step closer to reality.

“These future doctors come from a variety of backgrounds, but have one thing in common – a true passion to serve the community as primary care physicians,” said Gladys M. Ayala, MD, MPH, dean and chief academic officer of NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine. “We’re excited to see how their perseverance and resilience will drive them to become experts in their specialties and ultimately provide patients with topnotch care.”

This year’s incoming students include:

· Annabelle Dalzon, who grew up in Haiti, but has been working as a medical assistant at an obstetrician-gynecologist (OBGYN) and women’s primary care practice in the Mineola area since graduating cum laude from Boston College where she majored in neuroscience and minored in philosophy.

· Chrysalis Mandel, an aspiring pediatrician who is from Long Beach, New York, and was a full-time merit scholarship student and magna cum laude graduate from CUNY Hunter College and CUNY Macaulay Honors College, where she majored in psychology (behavioral neuroscience) and minored in English.

· Rebecca Rozario, MPH, who is originally from Brooklyn and received her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from CUNY Queens College and a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University. Prior to attending the NYU GLISOM, she had a 12-year career with NYC Health + Hospitals in various leadership roles.

· Bilal Salam, who grew up in Brooklyn and witnessed first-hand disparities in healthcare, which served as catalyst for his interest in primary care. As an honors scholar, he received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from CUNY Hunter College while working as a frontline medical assistant at an urgent care facility during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was raised in Brooklyn after my parents emigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan in the 1990’s. My father worked seven days a week to support us, and I am the first generation in my family to graduate college,” said Bilal. “Although my parents did everything they could to support me along the way, I would have never been able to go to medical without the free tuition at GLISOM. It has taken my dream and made it a reality.”

The Mineola-based medical school, which first opened its doors in July 2019, is the only one in the country that offers a tuition-free accelerated three-year medical degree. Its mission is to train primary care physicians to become academic leaders and address the physician workforce shortage in New York State.

GLISOM prides itself on recruiting students predominantly from the New York metro area, with 75 percent of the incoming students from the tristate area and 50 percent from New York in this year’s class. The school offers a direct link to residencies at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island in much needed specialties such as internal medicine, pediatrics, OBGYN, and general surgery.