GSDM Student and Faculty Volunteers Awarded Certificate for International Volunteer Service
The American Dental Association (ADA) Board of Trustees has awarded its Certificate for International Volunteer Service to four members of the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) community. The GSDM recipients are DMD 15 graduates Dr. Sonal Chhanabhai, Dr. Samita Sandhu, Dr. Amrita Patel, and Dr. Stephanie Leung; as well as Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of General Dentistry and Practice Leader in the Pre-doctoral Patient Treatment Center Dr. Ryota Kikuchi.
The ADA Board of Trustees awards the Certificate for International Volunteer Service to dental professionals who have spent at least 14 days performing dental services in a foreign country during the previous year. In 2015, 62 dental professionals from around the country—including the five from GSDM—received the Certificate for International Volunteer Service.
During the 2014/2015 school year, GSDM volunteers traveled to 30 countries around the globe to provide dental services to those in need.
In January 2015, Dr. Kikuchi led a two-week volunteer trip to Gujarat, India with Dr. Chhanabhai, Dr. Sandhu, and Dr. Patel, who were all—at the time—DMD students. The group spent two weeks in India working with children and creating treatment plans that could help save and improve the children’s dentition.
“The trip meant so much more than just the providing of dental procedures to a needy population,” said Dr. Kikuchi in an article he wrote for Boston University Global Programs. “I discovered in myself a deeper understanding of the compromises it takes to accept what you are capable of doing when you have limited resources, and also how important it is to differentiate between when someone else needs to step in and when you need to conquer the challenge on your own.”
Dr. Stephanie Leung accrued her 14 or more days of service during two different GSDM volunteer trips. Dr. Leung volunteered in Gracias, Honduras from September 13 to 20, 2014; and in Estelli, Nicaragua from February 9 to 18, 2015. During both trips, Dr. Leung worked with others from GSDM to provide oral healthcare to the residents of the cities they were working in.
In a November 18, 2014 Outlook This Week article about the trip to Honduras, Dr. Leung remarked “As GSDM students, work integrity is paramount. Due to the high volume of patients we saw in Honduras, we learned to think fast and work efficiently, while providing excellent dental care.”
“I am very proud of both Dr. Kikuchi and our four DMD 15 alumni—Dr. Sonal Chhanabhai, Dr. Samita Sandhu, Dr. Amrita Patel, and Dr. Stephanie Leung—for their tremendous volunteer work outside of the United States,” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter. “Our international programs continue to grow stronger each year because of the incredible effort of our students, residents, faculty, and staff.”