Predoctoral Convocation Awards 2021

The 2021 Predoctoral Convocation Award ceremony was held on April 28. The ceremony recognized the accomplishments of freshmen, sophomore and junior dental students. Kristi Morris, DS3, was awarded the UT Health San Antonio Ambassador Scholarship. This honor is given each year to one outstanding student from each of the five UT Health San Antonio schools. A $5,000 scholarship was awarded to each ambassador in April. Kristi will represent the dental student body and the university at numerous events throughout the 2021-2022 academic year. Dr. Stefanie Seitz, assistant dean for students, presented two junior dental students with the Carus Dental Scholarship. Taer Alkour and Jessica De La Fuente received the award for their exhibition of leadership, teamwork and characteristics of future group practitioners. Both students received $2,500, which will be applied to their tuition and fees. Every year, one DS3 from each accredited dental school in the United States of America is selected to be awarded the American College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (ACOMS) William H. Bell Award for Predoctoral Achievement in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. This year, Joelle Foster was chosen for this award due to her high level of academic and clinical achievement relating to oral and maxillofacial surgery. Joelle received a certificate and is invited to attend and be recognized at the upcoming ACOMS Annual Scientific Conference and Exhibition. Bailey Meyer, DS1, was presented with the Edward G. Rennels and Vick Williams Award. This award is named after two professors in the Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy who contributed substantially to the education of dental students with regard to anatomical sciences. With this award, Bailey was recognized as the student with the highest overall score in the Human Health and Disease Craniofacial Complex (HHD2) course. She was given a certificate, a plaque and $900, which is applied toward her tuition and fees. Congratulations to all the award recipients! • Ambassador Scholarship Award: Kristi Morris, DS3 • Rennels and Williams Award: Bailey Meyer, DS1 • Pierre Fauchard Academy Dental Student Scholarship Award: Juliana Alonso Ryan • ACOMS William H. Bell Award for Predoctoral Achievement in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: Joelle Foster, DS3 • Student Clinician Research Program Award: Kamron Call, DS2 • Arthur T. Storey Scholars Award: Isaac B. Bunker, DS3 • Carus Dental Award: Taer Alkour and Jessica De La Fuente, DS3 • Richard H. Carr, Jr., DDS Endowed Scholarship: Jessica De La Fuente, DS3 • CACTUS Individual Award: Jamie Huntzinger, DS2 • CACTUS Outstanding Team Award: Jamie Huntzinger, Danielle Mayberry, and Linh Pham, all DS2s • Alliance of Texas Dental Association Endowed Scholarship Fund: Anthony Garcia, Alyson Miller, and Nicholas Smith, all DS3s • Texas Dental Association Smiles Foundation Scholarship: Jimin Kim and Garrett Rutkowski, both DS1s. • Jr. Clinic Award for Excellence in Clinical Dentistry, GPG 1: Joelle Foster • Jr. Clinic Award for Excellence in Clinical Dentistry, GPG 2: Nicholas Smith • Jr. Clinic Award for Excellence in Clinical Dentistry, GPG 3: Shivam Patel • Jr. Clinic Award for Excellence in Clinical Dentistry, GPG 4: Steven Oviedo • Jr. Clinic Award for Excellence in Clinical Dentistry, GPG 5: Vanessa Schussler da Silva • Jr. Clinic Award for Excellence in Clinical Dentistry, GPG 6: Jaanavi Dedhia • Jr. Clinic Award for Excellence in Clinical Dentistry, GPG 7: Juliana Alonso Ryan • Jr. Clinic Award for Excellence in Clinical Dentistry, GPG 8: David Hutton Additionally, each class bestowed three faculty members with the title of “Professor of the Year.” • DS3’s 2021 Professor of the Year: Dr. Daniel Lavin The class of 2022 was represented by their president, Pablo Medina, who commented that in addition to Dr. Lavin patiently making sure the class “understood the difference between making impressions and taking impressions,” he always made sure they were “enjoying dentistry.” • DS2’s 2021 Professor of the Year: Dr. Edward Wright Sophomore class president, Jonathan Thompson, praised Dr. Wright on behalf of his class. “To say Dr. Wright is a great professor is an understatement,” he said. Thompson shared multiple quotes from his classmates which hailed Dr. Wright as passionate, attentive, caring and brilliant, yet humble. • DS1’s 2021 Professor of the Year: Dr. Haley Nation Freshman class president, Oscar Miranda, said Dr. Nation has deeply impacted his class by instilling in them the value of lifelong learning. He went on to say that she continuously proved her passion for and caring of her students. Photos of all the awardees are available on SharePoint.