NAA Volunteer Profile

How did you get involved as an NAA volunteer and how long have you been affiliated with this, or any other, NAA organizations?

I was asked to join the Dental School Alumni Board by past president, Maria Gracias (D90) for the 2001–2002 academic year, which marked the first year the alumni board convened following the closure of the dental school in May 2001. Two years later, I was nominated to be president of the alumni board (2003–2004 academic year)—a position I have held for five years in a row.

As a graduate of the final NUDS class in 2001, I was able to bring a fresh perspective to the alumni board and the community it represented. I had a very positive dental school experience, and a positive outlook was needed in order to reinvigorate the NUDS alumni community and bring them together again. This led to my eventual nomination as president of the board.

Through my affiliation with the NAA, I was asked in 2004 to sit on the Alumni Awards Selection Committee.

What was one of your most rewarding experiences as an alumni volunteer?

One of the goals of the NUDS alumni board is to generate interest among the alumni base to organize their own activities whether it is regional or by graduating class year. This would involve identifying regional and class representatives. It has been difficult finding interested alumni to volunteer as regional representatives; however, we are just now starting to generate interest among individuals to become class representatives.

In April 2006, the class of 1966 met in Chicago to celebrate their 40th reunion. This was conceptualized and organized by Charles Maseredjian (D66). To date, this has been one of my most rewarding experiences as an alumni volunteer because it represented the hard work by the board as a whole to achieve our mission of fostering community among alumni. It showed that individual classes were interested in getting together.

Attended by approximately 25 alumni and their spouses, the weekend-long event included short lectures, some held in one of the new lecture halls located in the former dental school building. NUDS alumni board member Ron Sims also organized a tour of the G.V. Black collection at the Galter Library of Science. G.V. Black is known in the dental world as the “Father of Modern Dentistry” whose principles are still practiced today (his statue can be found in Lincoln Park near the Chicago History Museum). Additionally, he served as Dean of the NU Dental School from 1897–1914. By the end of his tenure, NUDS was the leading dental school in the world. The 40th reunion weekend concluded with a dinner in a private room in a downtown restaurant. Not only was this a very rewarding experience for me, but I also made a new friend in Dr. Maserejian and his family who still keep in contact with me.

Photos can be found here.

What do you get from being involved with Northwestern that you normally wouldn’t get anywhere else?

Respect. When the NAA officers convene each spring and fall, I am overwhelmed with the amount of support and respect that other fellow officers provide me. They understand the challenges I face being involved in an alumni association for a school that does not exist and whose alumni base gets smaller on a yearly basis. I present an annual report on the achievements made by the NUDS and am always approached afterwards and given very positive words of encouragement. Most notably, our efforts have been acknowledged/praised by a Kellogg School representative whose alumni association has incredible resources and involvement. Being a member of the NAA community has provided me with a great deal of camaraderie which encourages me to instill the same among our alumni base.

What are your other interests?

Mountain biking, exploring Chicago attractions with my family, Chicago architecture, ethnic cooking, hiking, and music.

How has your NAA experience benefited you personally and/or professionally?

The NAA experience has allowed me to connect with and become part of the NAA community. This has afforded me the opportunity to meet some very interesting and friendly people with similar goals and interests representing a variety of NU clubs and associations.

Professionally, my role in the NUDS alumni association has made me a “first contact” to the alumni base. This has given me a great sense of pride that I belong to such a vibrant, diverse, and enthusiastic international alumni community. Through my interaction with the alumni, I have come to realize that there is a need and desire to maintain this community and camaraderie which I have not witnessed among other dental school alumni associations. Currently, a general alumni association dental school trend I am seeing is one in which one dental school alumni association welcomes alumni members from other dental schools, despite never having attended the hosting school.

What advice would you give to an alumnus interested in getting involved with NUDS?

If possible, attend a board meeting or NUDS alumni reception to meet other alumni and understand our goals. In general, dentists like to be mentors. This is even more so since mentoring can no longer occur within the walls that the alumni received their degree. I would recommend they contact local alums. The NAA Web site is an excellent resource for alumni to network or obtain mentorship through the NEXT program. I would also guide them to our NUDS Alumni Association Facebook Group, where they can post messages to be read by other registered alumni.

What advice would you give to an alumnus new to volunteering?

Contact alumni in your area of interest since fellow alumni are excited to help other alumni—whether they have graduated or are working on their degrees. Attend a spring or fall NAA meeting as there is often a student panel providing feedback to the NAA. 

How often do you get back to campus?  What brings you back?

I visited the Evanston campus once or twice to study for finals and seclude myself from fellow classmates. I get back to Evanston monthly during the academic year for NUDS board meetings.

I attended school at the downtown Chicago campus, so I go back to the Evanston campus infrequently. I find myself on the Chicago campus on a quarterly basis to use the Galter library for research or to view the G.V. Black collection.

What is your favorite memory of Northwestern as a student?

An intense camaraderie among faculty, students, and staff that I have not seen among any of my colleagues who attended other dental schools … NUDS has a history of fostering such camaraderie, which is even more pronounced as a result of the school’s closure and lack of incoming students in the classes below me.