Lasting Impressions | Fall 2016

48 © NSU LASTING IMPRESSIONS Student Impressions Second-year dental student Francesca Pietri ’s childhood dream was to be a dentist. Like other students in the NSU College of Dental Medicine, her college courses focused on the sciences. But how many dental students can say they worked as an international model or studied at the Sorbonne University in Paris? Pietri began her CDM studies in 2015 a er working on a Master of Biomedical Sciences (M.B.S.) degree at NSU’s College of Medical Sciences. She was awarded a Stella August Endowed Scholarship for academic achievement in the master’s pro- gram. Students in the program take basic science courses alongside dental and osteopathic medicine students in preparation for admission to one of the two professional programs. In a letter to Pietri, Harold Laubach, Ph.D., dean of the College of Medical Sci- ences, wrote: “You now have the opportunity to add another dimension to your career, because you have been selected to receive the Stella August Endowed Scholar- ship.” e scholarship funds were applied to Pietri’s 2015–2016 College of Dental Medicine tuition. “I worked really hard during my M.B.S. year, because I wanted to be a dental student,” she said. “Being awarded the Stella August Scholarship was the icing on top.” Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, Pietri spent her latter teenage years in New Jersey and received a Gates Millennium Scholarship, which is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Pietri said the Gates Millennium Scholar- ship funded all her education, including her University of Florida, Florida Atlantic University, and Nova Southeastern University undergraduate and graduate educations. Determination Fuels Student’s Ambition BY DAVID A. SCHWARTZ Francesca Pietri was thrilled to receive the Stella August Endowed Scholarship.