JACOB KONST/Arizona Summer Wildcat Jordan Coulston, Terri Mae, Sarah Chiang and Stephanie Castrillo take the Oath of Commitment at the University of Arizona's ninth White Coat Ceremony.

Zach Robbins has always wanted to be a doctor, and when he and 109 other first-year medical students donned white coats for the first time Friday night, he came one step closer to realizing his dream.

The ninth annual White Coat Ceremony, held at Centennial Hall, marked the beginning of the class of 2007's journey to becoming practicing physicians as they were inducted into the UA College of Medine.

Clinical Associate Professor and keynote speaker Carlos Gonzales said one of the most difficult challenges would be maintaining the students' idealism.

Gonzales said the hard work and immense knowledge basis could make students cynical.

"It's important not to lose sight of what the overall goal is," he said.

That goal, Gonzales said, is to heal and help the sick.

Robbins, who hopes to someday go into pediatrics, said such a goal was the definition of a doctor.

"(A doctor is) someone who is there to listen and to give care to people who are in need of care," he said.

But Robbins realizes the challenges ahead. In addition to battling books and difficult exams, one of the main challenges he will face will be dealing with the mounting health care problems here in the U.S., from medical insurance to HMOs, he said.

First-year medical student Parisa Morris said another challenge will be interacting with patients for the first time.

For first-year student Gideon Richards, the hardest part will not be learning the material, but having the confidence to use what he has learned.

Gonzales said that it is important for the students to remember who is actually being healed.

"We are, as healers, the facilitators of the healing process. The patients heal themselves. The patients do the hard part," Gonzales said.

Gonzales said his desire to help the sick came from witnessing members of his family suffer because of inadequate and deficient medical care.

Gonzales has kept to his goal of helping the underserved by maintaining a community health center on the south side of Tucson while at the same time traveling to places such as Patagonia to render aid.

Gonzales grew up on the south side of Tucson in a household where his father had a third-grade level education and his mother a high school diploma.

Reflecting on his first year of medical school at the UA, Gonzales said that he remembered feeling nervous and anxious.

Similarly, Morris said that she was excited to begin and was looking forward to the challenges of the next four years.

In addition to donning their white coats for the first time, students took an oath of commitment that served to tie students to the journey they were undertaking.

"I always felt (becoming a physician) was right for me," Morris said.