The Diastema News

Bruins Represent in Florida ASDA’s Annual Session was held in Ft. Lauderdale from August 29th – September 2nd. UCLA sent atotal of 10 delegates to this year’s session: Melissa Bailey (Legislative Liaison), Alaina Fenton (SchoolImprovement/Student Morale Committee Chair), Gil Ivry (Legislative Committee Chair & 2nd yearASDA Rep), Jon Savage (Treasurer), Grant Stucki (Vice President), Eddie Surger (President), JelsonYalung (Vice President), Chris Claus (4th year CDA Rep), Jared Lee (District 11 Trustee – national posi-tion) and Will Traynor (Immediate-Past President). This annual session was our first exposure to ASDA at the national level, and the experience defi-nitely lived up to all of the hype. Our days were packed with meetings, legislative sessions, breakoutsessions and election of the new national executive cabinet. Topics that were given extra attentionthis year included Dental Licensure Reform and Ethics. As a national student run organization, ASDA isefficient and influential in its policy making; we even have vot-ing seats in the ADA House of Delegates. We had a chance to interact with dental students from all overthe country, from complaining about the hard classes to com-paring graduation requirements. There was a strong sense ofcamaraderie and great excitement about our passion for den-tistry. We met all the ASDA delegates from our District 11. Dis-trict 11 also includes USC, UCSF, UOP and Loma Linda and wevoted for our new district trustee, Jimmy Cheung from LomaLinda. Additionally, during the awards ceremony we receivedrecognition from Crest for winning 1st place in the 2007 CrestHealthy Smiles ASDA Community Dentistry Award Program.

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Alaina Fenton and Gil Ivry, 2010

bridging the information gap Fall 2007

Gil Ivry, Melissa Bailey, Jon Savage, Alaina Fenton, Grant Stucki, and Jelson Yalung look sharp at ASDA’s Annual Session.

Inside This IssueAnnual Session 1Message from ASDA 2Message from ASB 2Faculty Interview 3Venice Clinic 4VDSA Health Fair 4Mobile Clinic 5AUM Exchange 5All School Picnic 6ASDA B-Ball 6Curriculum Reform 7Survivor Series 7

Editorial Disclaimer: Theopinions contained herein donot necessarily reflect those ofUCLA or of the UCLA School ofDentistry in particular.

Editor in ChiefKristen Lowe

Section EditorsSherry Darabi

Tamar Sardarian

Photo EditorsMelissa BaileyDeema Saad

Layout EditorsThuy Tran Hoang

Grant Stucki

SubmissionsIf you would like to

submit an article forThe Diastema News orhave a suggestion forus, please email the

editor at:Diastema.News@gmail.com

CongratulationsVivien Lao

ASDA CommunityService Chair 2006-2007

Her extraordinaryefforts earned first placerecognition in the 2007

Crest Healthy SmilesASDA Community

Dentistry Program.Thank you for all of your

hard work!!

Volume 6, Issue 1

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Presidents’ Page

As November comes to a close, I am reminded byfamiliar sights and sounds that school is back in fullswing. The 1st years are packed into the “Fishbowl”frantically studying the intricacies of the axilla while the2nd years attempt to split their hours between the lab andthe classroom. The 3rd Year students have made themigration from the classroom to clinic, and 4th Years arescrambling to finish requirements and manage anunwieldy block schedule. Ah yes, the familiar sights andsounds of the UCLA School of Dentistry. It’s been a busy and tiring fall for The AssociatedStudent Body. The cabinet has been working with theStudent Apollonian Group (SAG) and the ApollonianSociety to provide effective ways to enhance yourexperience here. After meeting with the presidents ofthe Alumni Association and Apollonian Society, we areproud to announce that SAG president, Greg Werner, hasallocated funds to purchase new computers for thestudent lounge and a plasma TV to be installed outside13-041. We anticipate that these purchases will beusable by the end of winter quarter. We are confidentthat these improvements will be appreciated by allstudents and provide many years of service to the school. Socially, the ASB has got you covered. Chair IsraelTrujillo has arranged several events for the student bodyto make certain that there is adequate “stress relief” foreveryone. The Dodger game this summer was a hit, and

Welcome Back Students!Rick Rauth, ASB President

the camping trip to Big Bear Lake waswell received. Additionally, both theannual All School Picnic and theTable Day were resoundingsuccesses! First year attendance at both events wasspectacular, and who knew it was possible to consume acherry pie in 30 seconds flat? Kudos to you, Carl Jones,’10. Mark your calendars for President’s Weekend inFebruary as ASB is planning our annual ski trip toMammoth, which I can personally guarantee will be ablast. Pray for snow! Remember, this is our school; let’s take pride in thatfact. Clinic Pride Days are scheduled quarterly this yearwith the first one held in mid-November. Lunch,individual raffle prizes, and class prizes for attendancewere awarded. Spring Cleaning last year was hugelysuccessful, and it was even rumored that Dr. Beumer wasseen with a tear in his eye as he gazed upon his belovedand newly sparkling removable clinic. Let’s notdisappoint this year. In closing, I want to remind you that the ASB waselected by you to represent you, the student. If there issomething you need or a suggestion that you’d like tomake, please contact me or any member of the cabinet. ..our cubes are always open. On behalf of ASB, I wouldlike to wish everyone good luck in the coming year, GoBruins!

Opportunity and BalanceEdward Surger, ASDA President

Welcome to the first quarter issueof ASDA’s Diastema News for the2007-08 school year. I’d like to startoff by thanking the people who havehelped make the continuation ofUCLA ASDA and subsequently, thisnewsletter, a success. I’d like to extend

a big thank you to our Editor-In Chief, Kristen Lowe, fortaking an early initiative to organize and publish an out-standing first edition of this newsletter of the school year.I’d also like to send a thank you to all the committee chairsand subcommittee chairs for their creative efforts in plan-ing and organizing the many diverse ASDA events takingplace this year. Last but certainly not least, I’d like to thankDean Park, Dr. Bibb, Dr. Mito, Ms. Eveyln Marques and Ms.Melina Duenas for their continued support of UCLA ASDA.Without their help, all of the events and trips that we or-ganize would not happen. When I decided to take on my position in ASDA, Iwanted to foster two simple yet powerful themes forstudents: opportunity and balance.

This year, our ASDA cabinet has reorganized our com-mittees so that more students will have more opportuni-ties to get involved with leadership at our school. Withthis year’s introduction of three new committees and overtwenty subcommittee chairs, there have never been somany opportunities to get involved in one of the manyASDA committees. Despite the doubts we consistently have throughoutdental school, those of us who desire and persevere toachieve the D.D.S. will reach that goal. I like to think ofevery experience in dental school as being on a learningcurve: everyone will start at a different point on the curve,but we will all eventually reach the end. It is completelynormal for us to have doubts in our abilities to reach ourgoals as we drill into our first tooth in operative or spend10 hours setting our first 6 denture teeth. Despite the chal-lenges you may face, you always have the choice to take astep back and begin to take control of your experience indental school, and it is never too late or too early to start. How is it possible to stay uplifted, balance the challengesof first and second year and yet still be able to stay in-volved extracurricularly? Where does one find the time?

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“Life teaches you to be goal-oriented, butso much enjoyment is in the process. Soeven if your final product is not so greatbut if you enjoy what you do, you can get

a lot of pleasure out of it.”

Dr. Fariba YounaiDental Schools: Teheran University, SUNY at Stony BrookResidency: Long Island Medical Center

What did you see yourself doingwhile growing up?I always saw myself being in themedical field. There was somethingvery fascinating to me about the artof healing. In Iran, we have in ourhistory, people who have the title of“hakim,” scientists who weremathematicians, astronomers,chemists, and philosophers, whoultimately used all their knowledgeas physicians. I have always beeninspired by that.

Fondest memory of dental school:Friendships – there were four of uswho came from different careersbefore dental school who becamevery close friends – the late nights inthe lab, working and having fun. Wetalked about life, family, and future allthose long hours. I don’t think youwill ever be in another situationwhere you’ll have the opportunity tomake deep friendships like that.

As a woman in the dentalprofession, what are the rewards?Women have the natural ability to bevery compassionate. If womenrealize what they’re born with and

learn how to access it, many wouldhave the ability to become greathealers; healer in a sense that theycan make a difference in somebody’slife, reduce pain, and give comfort.

As a woman in the dentalprofession, what are thechallenges?

Family – no question. If you want tomaintain a professional life and at thesame time, have a family and raisechildren who are sane, it’s a verydifficult task in the developed world.The industrialized world is not madefor women who want to have acareer and be good mothers. Duringthe time my two children were veryyoung, I only worked part time. Asthey became old enough to be in aschool environment, I went back towork full time. Even then, I workedwithin ten minutes walking distancefrom my children’s day care and thentheir school so I used to go check onthem, be with them, sometimes havelunch with them, then go back towork.

What have you discovered aboutyourself in the last fiveyears of teaching?That I can still push mylimits. You get to a place in lifewhere you feel comfortablewith what you do and whoyou are. And you think thatthis is it, you can’t growanymore. But then you facea new challenge and realizethat you can still push your

limits and do so much more and bebetter at what you do.

What have you discovered aboutyour students in the last five yearsof teaching?In order to become a responsiblepractitioner, someone who can runan office and make decisions abouttheir patients, one has to grow upvery fast. The transition from firstyear to fourth year is very quick.Some students naturally jump into itand go through the growth. Somestudents struggle with it. It’s notabout learning the techniques ormastering the subject – it’s aboutmaturing as human beings. They maytechnically become very competentbut may not until the end of theirtraining fully realize what they arecapable of achieving. I hope we canopen our students’ eyes, those of uson the teaching side, to make theenvironment so that students don’thave to go through such a struggle.Students should seek out mentors,faculty who can sit, talk, help themalong with their vision. It’s alwaysgood to talk about things withsomeone who’s gone through a littlemore in life.

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Faculty Interview

The Diastema News’ Nancy Chen interviews

Tell me about your HIV work:I started working with HIV in 1985,which is very early in the epidemic.HIV was happening around me whenI was in New York. Being in oralmedicine, I saw patients with veryadvanced disease. We didn’t knowwhat was going on in patients’mouths – a lot of it didn’t even have

Diastema News 4

Community Service

Venice Revival October 13, 2007 marked the first Saturday VeniceClinic of the academic school year. During this session,nearly a dozen children received care provided by dentalstudent volunteers. For many first and second yearparticipants, this event provided their first exposure tothe Wilson-Jennings-Bloomfield UCLA Venice DentalCenter, which is a community- based clinic dedicated totreating the underserved. New volunteers were given atour of the facilities as well as a demonstration on howto deliver oral health instruction and apply dental sealants.Many student volunteers were given the opportunity togo a step further; Eric Pleitez, a second year student andfirst time participant, provided a prophylaxis treatmentto a fourteen year old boy. Patients for Saturday Venice Clinic sessions arerecruited by UCLA dental student groups such as AsianDental Care (ADC), South Central Care (SCC), and LatinoAmerican Dental Services (LADS) during school visits and

Chioma Onwuka, 2010

community health fairs. As a whole, Saturday VeniceClinic provides many UCLA dental student volunteers theopportunity to serve a unique patient population. Asnoted by Vivian Luong, a second year ADC studentrepresentative, participants have the opportunity topromote the oral hygiene of young children andteenagers, which may lead to behavioral changes andreduce the likelihood of oral health problems in thefuture. Additionally, dental student volunteers are oftenexposed to patient populations severely in need of healthcare, which further instills a desire for volunteers tocontinue treating the underserved in the future.

For the first time since the club’s inception in spring2005, the UCLA Vietnamese Dental Student Association(VDSA) participated in the Little Saigon Health Fair,providing sealants and fluoride and raising dental careawareness among the Vietnamese community. The Little Saigon Health Fair was sponsored by NguoiViet Daily News (“Vietnamese People”), the first dailynewspaper published inVietnamese in the UnitedStates. Nguoi Viet Daily Newsprovided the facilities andlocation for the event, whichwas predominately attendedby members of theVietnamese community. The event was hosted bythe United Students forCommunity Health, acollaboration between UCIand UCLA undergraduates. Over 25 UCLA students came out for the event. Studentsscreened approximately 35 patients, checking for oralcancer and clinically detectable decay. Other servicesprovided included sealants, fluoride varnishes and oralhygiene instructions

VDSA’s Little Saigon Health FairThuy Tran Hoang, 2009 “This was our first time providing outreach to the

Vietnamese community; I think we were prettysuccessful,” VDSA President Alfonse Doan said. “I thinkthe dental students learned a lot about the Vietnamesecommunity, such as their health care needs and thebarriers they face accessing dental care. We wouldn’thave a chance to interact with this type of patientpopulation in the dental school setting.”

Over 100 people, mostly adults,attended the health fair. A rich arrayof health education services wasprovided. For example, UCLA medicalstudents screened for hypertensionand checked cholesterol levels whileNhan Hoa Clinic screened for bloodglucose. The Orange County HealthCare Agency provided nutritioncounseling and The Advance BeautyCollege gave free message therapy.Free mammogram services wereprovided by the Susan G. Komen

Breast Cancer Foundation. “The Vietnamese community represents a uniqueunderserved population from both a cultural andconomic stand point,” third year dental student AdamShaffer said. “Despite being from a different cultural

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Yen Yo Liao and Melanie Ngov ‘09 get involved.

Rachel Hurwitz and Diana Croft hard at work.

Diastema News 5

Asahi-UCLA-Meikai Exchange Program This past summer, ten dental students and twoprofessors from Japan’s Meikai and Asahi Universitiescame to visit the UCLA School of Dentistry as part of ourexchange program between the schools. The guests hada spectacular time as we hosted them to many ofCalifornia’s greatest attractions, such as Disneyland andthe Aquarium of the Pacific. We also took them to somelesser known local events, such as the annual CrawfishFestival in Long Beach. It was an upbeat end to a longday, but let’s just say that the Japanese students did notreally understand why people eat those things. However, there was much more to the exchange thanjust tourism, as we would often go to the local bar anddiscuss our cultures. The guests enlightened us to manyof the Japanese traditions and ways of life, and they alsotaught us a lot about the dental profession in Japan. Itwas very surprising for UCLA students to find out thatamalgam has not been used in Japan for over ten years.

On October 12, 2007, third and fourth year dentalstudents participated in the joint UCLA-USC Santa ClaritaMobile Dental Clinic. This Mobile Clinic was held at theChurch of the Latter DaySaints—Los Hermanos, whichgenerously opened their doorsto over 100 patients. UCLAstudents provided cleanings andrestorative treatments to overfifteen pediatric patients. “All your good patients hadgood dentists when they werelittle; all your bad patients hadbad dentists,” said Dr. MarjorieDomingo. “Without your help,these families would not have been able to afford the carethey received today.” For over 40 years, the UCLA/USC Mobile Clinic travelsall over Southern California, providing comprehensivepediatric dental care over the course of one week. Onthe first day, attending residents conduct exams, plan

Community ServiceUCLA-USC Mobile Clinictreatments, and take radiographs. Over the next six days,USC students on rotation carry out the treatment planwith UCLA students participating on Saturday. “The philosophy of Mobile Clinic is to provide complete

dental care to pediatric patients inlow income areas who otherwisewould not be able to afford it,” saidUCLA Mobile Clinic co-coordinatorSydon Arroyo. Reflecting upon hisexperience, Arroyo responded,“Mobile Clinic replenished mypassion for dentistry. It remindedme of why I am in dental school;and it is to help people.” For the dental students, MobileClinic provides an opportunity to

increase their speed. Due to the high volume of patients,one dental student may see up to six patients per day.However, one of the most rewarding experiences MobileClinic offers is a chance to interact with a pediatricpopulation. -“You always hear about children fearing thedentist, etc., so I was pretty worried about working on

Thuy Tran Hoang, 2009

In fact, one of the students described it as “poison.” Thisgives hope to all of those out there who hate carvingamalgam or are constantly breaking marginal ridges. Also,the Japanese dental program is six years long, andstudents do not work on a patient until after graduation.They also have a series of cumulative exams that theytake at the end of each year. It is also sad to say thatJapanese dentists work twice as hard and work morehours a day to get paid much less than the averageAmerican dentist. This has a lot to do with the cost ofliving, as well as the health care system. The entire experience was phenomenal, and the UCLAstudents really bonded with our guests. Many of us evencried during their departure because they became asclose as brothers and sisters during their stay. We all lookforward to the trip to Japan this coming spring, and Iencourage everyone to try to expand their encounterswith different cultures as much as possible because thefriendship and knowledge are invaluable.

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Robert Sharobiem, 2009

Campus Life

Diastema News 6

ASB All School PicnicChanel McCreedy, 2010

It is not quite thenational mayhem ofthe NCAAbasketball’s MarchMadness, but theASDA Annual UCLAUSC BasketballTournament sure getsthe LA dental ballersexcited to competefor the cross townbragging rights. Thislast May 12th, manydental students in the

LA area went to bed extra early the night before toprepare for the ASDA basketball tournament at the UCLAMen’s Gym. All 17 teams played three games in the morning, andeach’s record and point-spread were used to rank eachteam for the Sweet16 team tournament after lunch.During lunch, 20 athletes participated in a 3 point contest.

Bruin B-Ballers CompeteJonathan Savage, 2009

The forecast forewarned a cloudy day with a slightchance of rain, but fortunately for those who attendedthe UCLA School ofDentistry All SchoolPicnic, the sun didshine. Upholdingtradition, the pie-eatingcontest remained thehighlight of the day. Thecontestants eagerlycrowded the table.Spectators anticipatedthe second years tosweep the house sincefour out of the tencontestants were fromthe class of 2010. Thecompetitors tucked their napkins into their shirts, placedtheir hands behind their backs and gazed down at theobstacle before them, probably mapping out the fastestroute to victory. On the call of “On your marks…” MickelGerges from the class of 2011 jumped off the line tooquickly and took a premature bite of his pie! “Ohhhh!”yelled the crowd of onlookers as the first year looked upfrom his plate unsure of what to do with the huge bite ofpie! Once the contest officially started, the heads doveright in and pie chunks flew everywhere. The contestants’faces were immediately covered in apple pie chunks, and

Five sharp shooters qualified for the final round, andUCLA’s Mike Schoff (’10) won the 3 point challenge. After lunch, the two #1 seedsin the bracket continued theirconsistent play and advanced tothe Finals. USC was representedby Nathan Coughlin, KevinKliman, and James Habashy, andUCLA’s Matt Harvey, Mike Schoff,and Sahand Zarrabian (’10)earned the other #1 seed. Eventhough the UCLA team wasanchored by the 3 point contestwinner, Schoff, USC played toughdefense earning them a repeattitle. To the surprise of mostplayers, this championship gamewas decided by defense andquickness, unlike last year’s gamewhich was won down in the keyby the big man.

the crowd continued to cheer on their vigorous eating!And the winner was…an alumnus! Dr. Raul Castellanos,

UCLA SOD class of1978. Nader Nasseri,class of 2011, wonsecond place and theone and only CarlJones, class of 2010,took third. The highlyanticipated waterballoon contestfollowed. The studentsbegan picking theirpartners, practicingtheir tosses andstrategizing a game

plan. There were at least twenty teams that were willingto risk getting soaked in order to win! As the tossingbegan, contestants were eliminated left and right. Thefinal tosses were between Tal Masserman and DavidAvenetti vs. Greg Smith and Mark Terry’- all from theclass of 2010. Some speculate that it may have been thelong arms of Terry that clenched the winning, longdistance toss for him and Smith. Cheers for anothersuccessful All School Barbeque. Again, a big thank youto all those who participated in the competitions, thecooking and the planning!

Mike Schoff ‘10 gets offthe ground.

Bruins in the Final Four.

Campus Life

Diastema News 7

Beginning fall of 2008, the UCLA School of Dentistry isplanning to implement a new curriculum for the graduatingclass of 2012 according to Dr. Karen Lefever, a member of thecurriculum reform steering committee. Didactic and clinicalaspects will be changed with an emphasis on the integrationand application of basic and clinical sciences with dentistry. “Most educational institutions…periodically evaluate theircourses and then their curriculum because if you don’t, itbecomes stagnant,” said Dr. Lefever. “The curriculum hasevolved in ways we didn’t intend. It has become too impacted.” According to Dr. Lefever, the revamped curriculum will bestructured around six blocks: caries, periodontics, oral andsystemic diseases, restoration of form, function, and esthetics,growth and development, and dental practice. There will befewer “little classes scattered throughout the week” and moreblocks representing one of the six content areas. The goal ofthis streamlining is to provide students with more reflectivetime and greater opportunity to perform research, Dr. Lefeversaid. The school also intends to change the manner in whichclasses are taught. “We are working with faculty to develop

SOD Curriculum ReformHien Tran, 2010

Chanel McCreedy, 2010

Survivor Series: Second Year The smell of free pizza and the hope of pricelesswisdom drew dozens of second year dental studentsinto the “Surviving Second Year” informational.This was the last informational in the ADEA/ASDAsponsored Survivor Series that also included“Surviving First Year,” “Surviving Boards,” and“Surviving Clinic.” Second year students wereprovided with survey results from current thirdyear students regarding the average overalldifficulty, class time, study time and laboratory timefor each course offered during the notoriouslydifficult second year. The survey results serve as atool to better understand how to allocate theirstudy time. “The survey explained which classes wecan expect to be challenging and which ones willrequire more study time or more lab time,” said GilIvry. The survey also listed the fifteen winterquarter courses awaiting the second years. A question and answer session moderated by Anne Reevestook place between the second year students and a panel ofthird year students, which included Jung Kim, Justin Pfaffinger,Jane Refela, and Mark Skinner. The class of 2010 had numerousquestions, and upperclassmen encouraged them to learn in“real time” by staying on top of each week’s new material. When asked the most helpful and/or important piece ofinformation he learned, Kyle Pettersen responded, “In the end,

everyone will pass dentures.” When asked what shelearned, Kristen Moore shared that, “Despite howimpossible and difficult this year seems, each of us hasthe ability to make it through and to come out better forit in the end.” May these words comfort the class of 2010and provide hope in the midst of frustration for all futuresecond years.

more interactive lectures so that you are working on casesthat exemplify the principles the faculty member is talkingabout,” said Dr. Lefever. “There will be less time spentreading powerpoint presentations.” More material will be distributed online via Angel forstudents to access. Dr. Lefever stated that for some classes,instruction may be divided into two halves with the firsthalf consisting of a lecture by the basic science facultyand the second half being a presentation by clinical facultyto establish the dental relevance. Members of the steering committee overseeing thedevelopment of these curriculum changes are Dr. Lefever,Dr. John Yamamoto, Dr. Robert Lindemann, and Dr. JohnYagiela. This committee meets every Friday andperiodically with the chairs of the committeesrepresenting the six blocks. Student input is welcomed,especially from the Classes of 2008 and 2009. The finalstructuring of courses for the first two years of instructionfor the class of 2012 is expected to be complete by Januaryof 2008. The curriculum for the 3rd and 4th years ofschooling will be finalized subsequently.

ADEA Reps Anne Reeves ‘09 and Verna Schuetter ‘10 with third year panelists.

Our chapter was recognized for our outstanding work inproviding Crest oral hygiene products at our many com-munity service events, including the Thanksgiving Fair,Project Santa Claus and the Dental Carnival. At the annual session, we quickly embraced the “WorkHard, Play Harder” mentality. We went out to dinner withour chapter and district, played night football in the warmwaters of the Atlantic Ocean and relaxed by the pool. Onour last evening there, we attended the Western themedPresidential Dinner. Yee-ha! After a frantic, last-minuteshopping trip (during which we purchased, among otherthings, belt buckles with built-in beer bottle openers), wecountry-line-danced the night away and joyfully con-cluded another successful ASDA annual session.

background, I really felt like I connected with some ofthe patients and that I was able to make a difference.” A lot of the patients were recent immigrants, many ofwhom showed a desire to improve their oral care butwere limited by language and finance. Health fairs suchas this are excellent ways to provide preventive dentistryby emphasizing good brushing and flossing techniquesand encouraging patients to visit their local dentists.

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Health Fair - continued from page 4

Younai - continued from page 3

names yet. It took me to the community, to homelesswomen, to runaway kids, to working with kids who wereprostitutes on the streets. It exposed me to an aspect oflife I am not sure I was fully prepared for, and I learned.It’s impossible to be in the field of HIV and not become apatient advocate. My entire professional career, I’ve donevolunteer work: working in committees, getting moneyfor care, making sure patients are getting both oral andmedical care, treatment for substance abuse, housing,and transportation.

kids, but I saw no evidence of phobia this weekend,” saidthird year Jennifer Chiang. “If anything, it was theopposite- every kid was hopping with excitement aboutgetting the sugar buggies cleaned off from their teeth.”

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Happy campers enjoying the great outdoors - ASB Camping Trip.

As first and second years, we become so stressed withkeeping up with lab projects and seemingly endless pagesand powerpoint slides of information that we begin losesight of the reason we entered this profession in the firstplace and the opportunities that are present to growwithin our profession. Now is the time to start thinkingand experimenting with where you envision your dentalcareer heading. Sure, some of you may be thinking: “What’s the bigdeal? I just want to graduate, work for someone a fewyears, buy some practice, and live the rest of my workinglife focused on my dental practice.” With that kind of men-tality, you are limiting your exposure to many aspects ofour profession that can steer your life to an exciting andself-fulfilling level in leadership, legislation, communityservice, teaching, and research. Those of you who sim-ply skimmed over the end of the last sentence, I encour-age you to envision yourself taking on each one of thoseresponsibilities. When you become involved with orga-nized dentistry, you begin to feel like you’re living a greaterpurpose than as just a sole struggling dental student orsoon-to-be dentist. You actually create opportunities foryourself to make connections with other individuals whoshare your passions. You begin to experience the excite-ment of helping others who are less fortunate, taking partin a legislative campaign in which you help fight for rightsof our entire profession, enriching the lives of your fel-low students and staff, or switching roles by actually teach-ing others a topic in dentistry. All of those are possibili-ties for you IN dental school; you just need to have a de-sire to experience them. Those of you who have never had a chance to experi-ence leadership and wish to experience it, now is yourchance. How? Find a desire to do so. The committeechairs that were selected for this year all share a desireand commitment in the committees they are now chair-ing. Not sure how to find the desire to do so? Seek outcurrent or previous committee chairs and allow them totry to inspire you. The leaders of UCLA ASDA have worked hard to createopportunities for students to get involved this year, nowit is up to you touse them to bal-ance and shapeyour dentalschool experi-ence. I trulywish you all tolook back atthese four yearsas a time of smil-ing versus cry-ing, as a time of positive self-growth versus weakness,and as a time of accomplishment versus regret. Have awonderful holiday season!

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