UF MHA alumni pin incoming class as part of the annual Gator Pinning Ceremony

A new MHA student is presented with a gold Gator pin by UF MHA alum, Emily Akers.

On Friday, August 23rd, the incoming Class of 2026 participated in their first “Gator Pinning Ceremony”, an annual UF MHA tradition which signifies the beginning of the students’ academic and professional journeys toward becoming healthcare leaders. 

The ceremony – held during the first UF MHA Seminar of the year – unites first- and second-year classes, UF MHA faculty, and program alumni.

Invited alumni are given the opportunity to pin a new UF MHA student with a gold gator, as a symbol of welcome into the Gator Nation. Program alumni Emily Akers, Katie Cairnes, Lian Norris, Nina Abando Lopez, and Jackson Hewang assisted with pinning the first-year class.

Dr. Keith Benson, Program Director, notes that the pinning acts as an equivalent to a White Coat Ceremony. Unlike clinical programs in the UF College of Medicine and the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions, UF MHA students do not hold a White Coat Ceremony.

“As future healthcare leaders, they now carry with them the legacy of the Gator Nation. Our students are thorough, disciplined, professional and successful. They will learn this about themselves as they continue through the program.”

Following the ceremony, the remainder of Seminar shifted to a question-and-answer panel between visiting alumni, many of whom are established professionals in the healthcare industry, and both classes of MHA students.

Savannah Patterson Jackson, UF MHA Class of 2021 and Manager of Health Care Administration for the UF Department of Surgery, lead the alumni panel.