Founders’ Day Welcomes Feinberg Incoming Class of 2026

First-year medical students celebrated with their families and friends at the Founders’ Day reception, sponsored by the Feinberg Medical Alumni Association. Photo by Nathan Mandell.

The incoming class of 2026 was officially welcomed to Feinberg during Founders’ Day on August 7 at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.

The annual event brought together students, families, faculty and university leaders to recognize the responsibilities of the medical profession and celebrate the beginning of students’ medical education through the White Coat Ceremony and the recitation of the Declaration of Geneva.

For Layth Alkhani, a first-year medical student, the day highlighted how far he had already come in his education and renewed his commitment to serving patients in the future.

“When you’re pre-med, so much of your journey is what you hope to do in the future,” Alkhani said. “Founders’ Day is the first step to actually start working with our community.”

Founders’ Day also serves as an introduction to Feinberg’s history, reminding students that they are joining a community defined by excellence and a commitment to patient care.

Eric G. Neilson, MD, vice president for Medical Affairs and Lewis Landsberg Dean, welcomes students, faculty and guests to the Founders’ Day ceremony. Photo by Nathan Mandell.

“It feels unreal to join a community with so many incredible people who have not only accomplished so much, but are also just so kind and welcoming,” said Ahalya Lettenberger, a first-year medical student. “I’ve always wanted to go to Feinberg and join this community, so today feels incredible.”

In opening remarks, Eric G. Neilson, MD, vice president for Medical Affairs and Lewis Landsberg Dean, welcomed students and their supporters while highlighting the school’s longstanding tradition of innovation in education, research and patient care. He noted that Founders’ Day, a tradition dating back to 1922, serves as both a celebration of the school’s history and a look toward the future.

“You have opened a new portal to your life’s work that focuses on medicine and science very few are privileged to enter,” Neilson said.

Northwestern University president Mung Chiang, PhD, welcomed the incoming students and recognized the dedication and perseverance that brought them to Feinberg.

“Choosing to become physicians is a noble and rewarding endeavor,” Chiang said. “Extending and improving the quality of human life are two of the most important ways that a great research university can serve its community, the nation and the world.”

The ceremony’s keynote address was delivered by Brian Garibaldi, MD, MEHP, the Charles Horace Mayo Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Bedside Medicine. He encouraged students to use technology as a tool that complements, but does not replace, their own observational skills.

“The answers to the questions you really care about are not in the computer,” Garibaldi said. “They are in the room with your patients, their loved ones and your colleagues.”

Marianne Green, MD, vice dean for Education and the Raymond H. Curry, MD, Professor of Medical Education, led new students through the White Coat Ceremony.

First-year students donned their white coats with help from second-year students, symbolizing the mentorship and teamwork that define medical education.

“Founders’ Day is a symbol of this new journey I am embarking on as a medical student,” said Sofia Rebull, a first-year medical student who was inspired to pursue medical school by her mother, a hospital social worker. “I feel like my life started when I received my Feinberg acceptance and this event really celebrates and honors that notion.”

First-year students received their white coats with help from second-year students, symbolizing the mentorship and teamwork that define medical education. Photo by Nathan Mandell.

The ceremony concluded with students, faculty and physicians reciting the Declaration of Geneva, reaffirming their commitment to the ethical principles of medicine and their shared responsibility.

“Founders’ Day represents a transition into and acceptance of a new sense of responsibility: a responsibility to care for patients with great compassion, attentiveness and integrity, as well as a responsibility to carry all that I have learned from my family and friends, my patients and mentors, and my community with me throughout this journey,” said Kaleb Boyd, a first-year medical student. “As I take this step, I am not only grateful to be entrusted with this responsibility but also inspired to do everything in my power to fulfill it.”

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