India Rogers-Shepp

Stanford Medical Student Finally Gets Her White Lab Coat

The effects of Covid-19 are far reaching, even at the rarified Stanford Medical School. Following pandemic guidelines and safety protocols, the school administration postponed the traditional first-year ceremony in which new medical students receive their white lab coats and stethoscopes and are officially inducted into the Stanford School of Medicine. The ceremony is symbolic of the student’s achievement.

India Rogers-Shepp, now a second-year student, entered Stanford in the fall of 2020 and was denied that special celebration along with the rest of her freshman class. This past August, she joyfully participated in the White Coat Ceremony, and is on her way to a brilliant career in medicine. India’s goal is to think critically about the intersection between science and America’s racialized and gendered history—and all the ways it places a stigma on marginalized bodies. “Through medicine, I hope to shed light on the politics these bodies must face daily and help them find the means to advocate for themselves effectively,” she said.

Ms. Rogers-Shepp received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Princeton and Brown Universities, respectively. She is the granddaughter of legendary jazz musician Archie Shepp.—TPC Staff