NSU CDM Lasting Impressions Fall 2018

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY | 31 chemistry program, Andrew Haidet was in his first year at the CDM; Whitney Howard was a senior, seven months shy of her Bachelor of Science degree in the UF nutrition program and waiting to hear back on her application to the CDM. He offered her advice and followed up later with texts of support. When she got accepted to the CDM, Haidet made himself available to answer her questions. The day be- fore she started at the CDM, he came to welcome her to the Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus, and was always there to help her with her classes. At the end of Haidet’s third year, and just before the start of hers, he complet- ed his term as president of the Psi Omega coed dental fraternity—and handed Howard the gavel. Both had been selected by their respective classes to lead the pres- tigious group’s CDM chapter, serving back-to-back terms. Theirs was a strong bond, a mentor- ship that lasted more than three years at the friendship level, until Andrew Haidet decided he wanted more. It was spring 2013, and the Melbourne, Florida, native was three months away from graduating. She was hesitant. “Finally, I came to my senses, and it was the best decision I ever made,” Whitney Haidet said. “I was like, we should have done this a long time ago!” THE BOND CATCHES That persistence and that drive to help others, set goals, and pursue dreams, set Andrew Haidet apart, said his friend and CDM classmate Kavi Shah, D.M.D. “He always looked out for other people. That’s the kind of person he is,” said Shah, who befriended Andrew Haidet in their first year at the CDM and later married Whitney Haidet’s close friend and CDM classmate Gargi Gajera, D.M.D., in 2013. Unlike Shah, who joined his father’s dental practice in New York, Andrew Haidet “didn’t have any connec- tions or family members to lean on when he left school,” Shah said. “I think Drew is a little more unique in that he ran with things on his own. He took the initiative to set himself up for success when he finished school.” Amir N. Farhangpour, D.D.S., noticed the same go-get-’em qualities in Whitney Haidet. Farhangpour, the CDM’s codirector of the predoctoral clinic and professor of the college’s board preparation class, found Whitney Haidet especially self-motivated. “She was always helping other people, especially with the licensure process,” Farhangpour said. “I always tell Andrew Haidet appreciates that the CDM teaches aspiring dentists about the importance of compassion and patient satisfaction.