Lasting Impressions | Summer 2017

38 © NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY Student Impressions It’s the oldest international Jewish medical organization, originally founded in 1907 by dental students at the Univer- sity of Maryland to fight discrimination. Today, the organization is composed of more than 100 alumni and student chapters in 10 countries, with members hailing from an array of cultural backgrounds. It welcomes members of all religions and ethnicities. In the spring of 2016, the CDM’s chapter had 30 members who graduated, making it one of the organization’s largest graduating classes in the United States. Broad and Diverse Appeal Finer and Ghiassi joined Alpha Omega in 2014 because they were impressed with the organization’s academic leanings and direct involvement in community affairs. “AO spoke to me as being academic and community-based, which is something I am very passionate about,” Finer said. “Being Jewish, I was proud of the values and principles the fraternity promoted.” Ghiassi also was impressed with AO’s history of com- munity involvement and its values. “Although I am not Jewish, AO’s mission and ideologies deeply resonate with me,” Ghiassi said. “AO has given me many opportunities for growth and development. I believe it will continue to do that as I matriculate into a dental professional.” Third-year dental student Ela Gozlan joined AO for the same reasons. “I feel like a lot of people in dental school— we all want to make a difference,” said Gozlan, who will graduate in 2018. In addition, Gozlan said AO offers fantastic networking opportunities and chances to mingle with staff and faculty members. “There is a conference every year, and we try to go. You see dentists of all ages who have been a part of it and what they have achieved.” Seidenfeld lauded AO as a great resource for up-and- coming dentists. “It’s a great organization, a wide-reaching organization,” he said. “It’s a resource for learning more. The members love dentistry; they have principles. It’s a resource to make a dentist a better dentist, a better practi- tioner, and a better community provider.” Second-year dental student Jiten Solanki joined AO because he wanted to engage in his profession “in a bigger way, working outside the classroom, something hands on,” said Solanki, who worked on the 2016 and 2017 runs. “I helped on the organizational side,” said Solanki, who will graduate in 2019. “I got a lot out of it. This organization has such an ambitious goal. It was so cool to see it materialize.” Solanki, who is interested in general dentistry, said the networking opportunities AO offers are incredible. “Some of the faculty members were in this organization when they went to dental school,” he explained. “When we have common ground like the same fraternity, we are really able to engage with them on a deeper level, outside of the traditional student-faculty relationship.” u The executive board of the Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity’s CDM chapter donated $3,600 to Dolores Goddard to help pay for reconstruction surgery. Goddard and members of her family attended the 2017 event. Continued from previous page