Students

On Thursday, May 12, the Office of Student and Resident Affairs hosted the annual DDS Senior Awards Banquet, presenting 57 awards and honors to new graduates.

With friends and family in attendance, the school honored 123 Doctor of Dental Surgery graduates, 26 Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene graduates, 8 Master of Dental Therapy graduates, 36 candidates for advanced education in dentistry, four candidates for the Master of Science in Dental Hygiene and one graduate student in oral biology.

Lanette Wedell, BSDH ’06, MSDH ’22, lives in many worlds at once. She was able to merge those worlds together at this year’s American Dental Education Association conference.

When it came time to decide on a post-graduate path, Parandis Kazemi didn’t want to have to choose between her two passions. The School of Dentistry allowed her to keep her options open, pursuing both research and practice, thanks to a dual degree program.

One of the proudest moments an educator experiences is seeing their students succeed. Earlier in my career, I had a mentee who would drop in and camp out with endless questions on their mind. Although it momentarily interrupted my work, I didn’t mind. I was fortunate to have mentors in my past who allowed me to do the same thing long ago. Fast forward, and I was amazed to see the mentee grow as they presented at a national meeting.

Sofia SooYoung Park, DDS ’25, won first place in the Student Competition for Advancing Dental Research Application (SCADA) Basic and Translational Science Research category at the American Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research’s 2022 Annual Meeting

Dental school can be challenging. A new environment surrounded by new people, where new skills must be quickly learned and implemented, often leads to stress and discouragement. Armed with experience and aided by student affairs staff, School of Dentistry students are taking what they learned and passing it on to their classmates.

The School of Dentistry is proud to embark on a transformational fundraising campaign in support of our students. Learners to Leaders: The Drive for School of Dentistry Students, seeks to fuel the passion and potential of tomorrow’s oral health professionals by increasing the number of scholarships and awards we provide to our students.

The 18th annual Research Day at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, held Friday, March 4, brought together experts across disciplines from the University of Minnesota and beyond to discuss cutting-edge discoveries in oral biology, cancer treatment and prevention and more. 

The Student Summer Research Fellow Program at the University of Minnesota provides funding for incoming DDS students and students completing their first year of the program, who wish to spend the summer. Over a 10-week period, each student undertakes a structured research program. Fellows attend weekly training seminars, with an opportunity the following spring to prepare a written report and a poster for presentation at local and regional student research meetings. In the past, some of these students have attended national meetings such as the American Association for Dental Research.