With the year coming to a close, I have been reflecting on the many changes we’ve faced. No one could’ve expected the trip home, for many of us in March for spring break, would turn into an extended stay with our families. After a brief adjustment period, it seemed clubs and activities at dental schools across the country were quick to adapt and began conducting “Lunch and Zooms” (previously known as lunch and learns). These sessions have been some of the most fulfilling and profound learning experiences for me, during 2020!
I speak for many of us upperclassmen when I say that lunch and learn sessions have definitely been a highlight of my time at NYUCD. Following the annual club fair at the beginning of each new school year, clubs begin to provide food to initially entice students. Throughout the year, they are held to teach about clubs’ events for the year or hear from a prominent speaker, often a clinician looking to give back to students. I can still remember the lunch + learn session that moved me most during D1 – a talk from Dr. Harriet Goldman, alumna of the class of 1965 (sponsored by Women in Dentistry). I was nothing less than absolutely awestruck to hear about the persistence and determination it took her to get through dental school, one of only a few women in her class. Event after event, I was inspired by the club’s message, so much so I applied to be and have served as lunch and learn chair for the club this past year! Students often are drawn to, at the very least, keep coming to a club’s events when a speaker inspires them.
Almost immediately after arriving home for “spring break,” lunch and learns over Zoom began. Though the first one I attended was held by another dental school (so the opportunity for continued involvement with the club was limited), the call-to-action message was clear. Titled cleverly, “What Like It’s Hard”, in reference to Legally Blonde, Dr. Laurel Henderson spoke about navigating dental school and later residency especially for the female student. Her credentials were long, her resume impressive, and among her accomplishments, a Miss California state pageantry title! “Four quarters are more valuable than 100 pennies” (having a few close friends to rely on is more valuable than many acquaintances) and “Take advantage of all opportunities because you never know where they might lead you.” Her lessons were simple, but what I didn’t even know I needed to lift me up at the time. From just a thank you message afterwards, I found a chance to speak with her one-on-one! Something so simple, as asking for advice and having someone to look up to - so sure of themselves who’d already finished - would quite literally help carry me through the difficult times that lie ahead.
The months passed, Zoom calls and Instagram Lives continued. Another meaningful Zoom event was with Dr. Bridget Glazarov, a NYU alumna and breast cancer survivor. Her talk on wellness, something she revealed she didn’t realize was so important until her diagnosis and treatment, was deeply moving and eye opening. It reinforced the idea that the things we take for granted every day could be at risk if we don’t learn to appreciate them. It benefits us and those we love to take care of ourselves – such a simple thought, yet so profound.
Finally, the pandemic has given me an opportunity to connect with others directly. I have had the opportunity to engage with well-known clinicians and California practice owner, Dr. Yazdan, on Instagram Live. It tested my interviewing skills and allowed me to begin to think about and ask the questions we all wonder as we graduate and move onto the practicing world – what would you do differently if you could do it again? Knowing what you know now, what would you go back and tell yourself while you were a dental student? How do you balance personal and professional life?
The pandemic has changed the majority of what we’ve become accustomed to, especially our daily structure. For a few months, we no longer woke up to go to lab or clinic daily; we no longer studied at the library or saw the friends we were used to seeing every day. We had to adapt and find new ways to seek advice and comfort in the lessons of others. Despite our return to clinic and lab at NYUCD, we still need the support and reassurance of friends and strangers – now more than ever. Certainly, though the name lunch and learn has changed a little, our propensity for human connection remains the same.
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