Lasting Impressions | Summer 2017

36 © NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY Student Impressions When a fast-growing cancer destroyed Miami teenager Cassandra Charles’ lower jaw two years ago, the sweet-faced high schooler wondered if she would ever smile again. She didn’t have health insurance, and the cost of reconstructive surgery was high. Then, NSU’s CDM chapter of the Alpha Omega (AO) International Dental Fraternity, whose mission is to change lives, stepped in to help. The 120-member fraternity raised more than $8,000 to pay for her jaw recon- struction through its Fourth Annual Oral Cancer Awareness 5K Run and Walk-a-Thon held in 2016. More than 200 people participated in the event. “Cassandra was in need,” said Alan Seidenfeld, a fourth-year CDM student who was president of the fraternity during 2016. AO’s efforts offered Charles a second chance at normalcy after an ameloblastoma, an aggressive tumor, took root in her jaw. The teen has undergone three surgeries so far to remove the large tumor and insert an expanding plate to promote the growth of new bone. “I was really, really scared,” said Charles, a junior at Miami Northwestern Senior High School. “I think a lot about how scary it was. But I was always positive.” Fraternity’s Goal: To Change Lives BY SALLIE JAMES Members of the Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity include, front row, from left, Deeva Bhatt, Jiten Solanki, and Ela Gozlan. Back row, from left, are Libby Finer,Alan Seidenfeld, and Sanaz Ghiassi, holding the youngest participant.