Lasting Impressions | Fall 2016

NSU COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE © 15 run the web-based Articulation Innovations, which manu- factured CaStix, for a decade. Why add to an academic portfolio that already includes a B.A. cum laude in biology from Maryland’s McDaniel College, a D.D.S. degree and a certi cate in prosthodontics from the University of Maryland Baltimore College of Den- tal Surgery, and an M.S. in oral biology from the University of Maryland’s graduate school in Baltimore? “I love being a student,” Siegel said. “Before it was the in-vogue thing to do, I was always a lifelong learner. My brain becomes activated and engaged and made alive when I’m learning something. I learn, and then I pass that on to my students.” omas Gri n, D.B.A., one of Siegel’s professors during her M.B.A. program, remembers her curiosity, mentorship, and leadership abilities. “She is a natural leader, and automatically, a er she asked a question, a ood of ques- tions came from other students,” he said. “She is caring and intelligent, with a willingness to learn. She’s open to new ideas while maintaining very high personal standards for professionalism in everything she does.” Siegel’s focus on helping women who want to become dentists may have been born of the support she received from her high school guidance counselor. Growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, Siegel was an excellent student drawn to study biology and dentistry. She decided in the eighth grade, when she was having orthodontic work done, that becoming a dentist would be her dream. “ e orthodontist looked like he was having so much fun doing what he did,” she recalled. “I watched the patients coming and going, and he was just so engaged with all of them.” Siegel ranked number one in her high school class; how- ever, she had a rude awakening when she talked college with her father, an engineer at Bethlehem Steel. “When I told him I wanted to go to college and become a dentist, he said, ‘ e money is for your brother, not for you,’ ” she said. “I told this to my guidance counselor, Mary White, who said, ‘You need to have your parents come in and talk to me.’ She told them, ‘Sharon can do this. She can become a dentist. We’ll apply for scholarships. You just have to let her have that opportunity.’ ” ankfully, her parents bought into the idea. Siegel received the scholarships and worked as a switchboard operator and as a resident adviser. She also worked at Bethlehem Steel, where she fed the coke ovens and worked on a pipe mill. Her father did help nancially, but mainly she worked hard during the summers to pay for her education. She lived at home to save money while she attended dental school. “My father was very traditional,” she said. “It wasn’t until I was 38 that he said, ‘I’m really proud of you.’ By then, I had already been in dentistry for 10 years.” At the University of Maryland’s Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, she met her husband. Michael Siegel, M.S., D.D.S., FDS, is chair of the NSU College of Dental Medi- cine’s Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Ser- vices. e two celebrated their 37th anniversary in July 2016. “Sharon’s integrity and honesty attract me to this day,” said her husband, Michael. “She is honest both in her professional and personal lives. ere is no one I have ever met that I trust and respect more. I am in awe of what she has accomplished, and her opinion is the one I seek out most o en when I need feedback on my own work.” A er graduating, the couple joined the U.S. Army and served for two years in Germany. She served in the depen- dents’ clinic and he in the troop clinic. ey traveled throughout Europe, then returned to the University of Maryland to start their academic careers. eir daughter, Sarah, works in Boston, Massachusetts, for Path nder International—a public health organization that works to improve the sexual and reproductive rights of women, men, and young people in developing countries. “My daughter actually had the opportunity to utilize her Georgetown University degree in foreign service in a number of di erent areas,” Siegel said. “I never realized that my message was getting through when I would tell her my stories of helping women.” While working at the University of Maryland from 1985 to 2003, Siegel served as a faculty adviser to the AAWD student chapter. She does the same for the Women’s Dental Society, which is the AAWD student organization at NSU.