Lasting Impressions | Fall 2014

014 NSU COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE © 9 at more than $100,000 to about 325 children— the most in the program’s 11-year history. “We opened the entire clinic to uninsured children and those at need in the community,” Castellucci said. “A lot of the younger children had never seen a dentist before.” According to Castellucci, the key to this year’s success was getting the word out to the commu- nity about the program, including using social media. At the CDM, “there are so many opportu- nities to be involved in the community,” she added. Amir Akhavan Malayeri, who has begun a three- year orthodontics residency at the University of Maryland, served this year as the president of the college’s Student Government Association, after being secretary and vice president. “It was one of the greatest decisions I ever made,” said Malayeri, 30. “I tell everyone, ‘you need to be involved.’ That is what makes the experience of dental school even more valuable. I saw the potential of what you can do as a leader, to be able to make changes and do something that is great for other people.” Malayeri considers that his biggest accomplish- ment during his last year as a student was trying to streamline the national board examination, a do-or-die patient treatment exam that students must pass to become a licensed dentist. A com- mittee coordinated with the college’s administra- tion to iron out a host of issues with the intent of easing some of the unnecessary pressures on the students. “I think we did a pretty good job of it,” said Malayeri, who came to the CDM from the Univer- sity of California, Irvine. “We made it more orga- nized so it functioned better. I have had a lot of people thank me for it.” Konstantine Lagos, 26, now in Brooklyn for a one-year general practice residency at Lutheran Medical Center, was part of the NSU Dual Admis- sion Program—which reserves a seat for highly qualified undergraduates in one of NSU’s master’s and professional degree programs. If he can’t make it as an actor in New York City (one of his passions is theater), he plans to have a family practice, inspired by his own fam- ily dentist, who allowed Lagos to shadow him one summer while he was in high school. “He really inspired me in the way he was able to treat patients as individuals and welcomed the whole family. He had a way of dealing with his patients that made them comfortable and happy to be there,” said Lagos. One of the most fulfilling experiences during his four years at the college was helping organize an NSU Dental Mission trip to Nicaragua, where students treated patients in community clinics. “As second-year students, it was the first interaction we had with patients. It prepared us [for working in the college’s dental clinic as third-year students]. It is one of my brightest memories,” added Lagos. A Dual Degree Brittanie Dillon, 28, was accepted into another innovative NSU program that is the only one of its kind in the U.S.—a joint Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine/Doctor of Dental Medicine degree to meet the needs of rural and medically under- served patients. The idea appealed to her because she is from Wichita, Kansas, and is familiar with the problem of the lack of doctors in rural areas. The six-year joint degree program gives “a lot of options,” she said. “I like that.” She is consid- ering practicing dentistry in a hospital emergency room. “There is a need in the ER for dentists,” Dillon said. Patients “don’t have access to a den- tist, and they are in pain.” In June, she began a rotating internship in internal, family, and emergency medicine at Manatee Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Florida. After that, she will pursue a residency, possibly in hospital dentistry. Maria Liliana Bernal, 31, thought she wanted to pursue a dental career but wanted to learn Adam Best shows his enthusiasm before commencement.