NSU CDM Lasting Impressions Fall 2018

32 | COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE students that after graduation, grades are no longer the yardstick by which success is measured. Passion, dedication, and giving back to the community will be the measuring tools. That was something Whitney grabbed onto very early on.” THE BOND PERSISTS Leadership and giving back are Whitney Haidet’s goals. The Tampa native was president of her high school class and captain of the cheerleading squad. In her second year at the CDM, while treasurer of Psi Omega, she developed a student ambassador program for the college, recognizing how important it was for the students who led campus tours to make a good first impression on candidates interested in the dental school. The CDM experience is infused with that sense of community, said Gajera, Whitney Haidet’s close friend and bridesmaid. At other schools, “There was always that vibe of everyone for themselves, whereas at the CDM, everyone helped each other. We were more like a team,” Gajera said, adding, though, that education is what you make of it. “Whitney and Drew are both go-getters. They don’t sit around and wait for things to happen for them. They went the extra mile, and they got the most out of what the CDM had to offer.” What the CDM offered, Andrew Haidet said, is a real-world education that didn’t just focus on the clinical aspect of dentistry, but also taught aspiring dentists about the importance of compassion and patient satisfaction. “They teach you how to deal with people and how to run a practice,” he said. “It’s not just all about chapters in a textbook.” What both Haidets say they found next, at Heartland Dental—the dental support organization that owns both their dental offices—was another key to their success. “They’ve presented us with the opportunity to grow to our full potential,” Andrew Haidet said, adding that the group offers training in leadership, business management, and, especially, patient satisfaction. “Patient experience is their specialty. Their focus is on providing support, so you can be successful.” He credits that support—and the busy practices it helps cultivate—for the couple’s ability to repay their student loans so quickly. He stresses, though, that his measure of success is not about money, but whether patients are happy with their care and are eager to come back. That is, after all, why he got into dentistry, he said, “to interact with patients in a way where I could have a positive impact on their lives.” u ALUMNI Impressions ALUMNI IMPRESSIONS “ [The CDM teaches] you how to deal with people and how to run a practice.” —Andrew Haidet “I love science, and I love medicine, and dentistry provides that.” —Whitney Haidet