Scholarship Roundup: Three GSDM Students/Residents Recently Awarded Scholarships
Three GSDM students/residents received scholarships from separate organizations to support their dental education this past May. We spoke to the three winners—Kate Winebrake DMD 25, Janvi Mody PERIO 23 28, and Michael Kaczor DMD 26—about their scholarships. Here’s what they had to say.
Kate Winebrake DMD 25
Oral Health Foundation of the Pierre Fauchard Academy Student Scholarship
The Oral Health Foundation of the Pierre Fauchard Academy supports future dental practitioner leaders with student scholarships program. The Foundation offers scholarships on an annual basis to all dental schools in the United States, Canada, Australia, and selected dental schools worldwide. This scholarship is awarded to dental students who were selected by their school’s faculty for demonstrating potential for becoming an outstanding leader in the dental profession.
Winebrake is this year’s GSDM Oral Health Foundation of the Pierre Fauchard Academy student scholarship winner. She said it was incredibly touching that she was selected from her class by GSDM faculty for this award. Throughout her time at GSDM, she has held leadership positions at the local and national level, including her role as the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) District 1 Commissioner.
She credits her “wonderful relationships with faculty,” noting the work of Dr. Joseph Calabrese, Dr. Matthew Mara, and Dr. Breno Reboucas in particular, for serving as her mentors and being her inspiration for how she can be a dental leader.
“I just overall feel very grateful and honored to have been selected,” Winebrake said. “It feels great to be recognized for all the hard work and dedication I’ve been putting into all of my leadership positions in school and then also excelling in the classroom [and] being able to balance the two.”
Janvi Mody PERIO 23 28
BU Women’s Council Scholarship
Since 1977, the BU Women’s Guild (BUWG) has distributed more than $800,000 in scholarships to more than 400 Boston University graduate students. The BUWG has a variety of scholarships with different criteria, including those available to women and those who identify as female and others, with preference to those who identify as female. Mody is the only GSDM student/resident 2024 BUWG scholarship awardee.
When Mody got the email notification saying she received the scholarship, she remembers almost bursting into tears upon reading the congratulatory subject line. She said this was the first award she has ever received of this caliber.
Mody, who originally completed her dental education in India and is currently pursuing advanced training at GSDM, said this scholarship from BUWG proves how supportive and encouraging women can be to other women.
“As we know, a little appreciation goes a long way, so something as huge as this will definitely keep me motivated throughout my residency and help me strive and be a better clinician to my patients,” Mody said.
Michael Kaczor DMD 26
The Kosciuszko Foundation Dr. S. Iwinski Dziejma Scholarship
The Kosciuszko Foundation is dedicated to promoting educational and cultural exchanges between the United States and Poland and to increasing American understanding of Polish culture and history. With their tuition scholarships, the Foundation supports American students of Polish descent for undergraduate- and graduate-level studies at colleges and universities in the United States.
Kaczor DMD 26 received the foundation’s Dr. S. Iwinski Dziejma Scholarship for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Kaczor is a son of immigrants from Poland and has been looking for more ways to get involved with the Polish community—especially since the Polish community is much bigger in Boston than in his home state of Florida. He is excited to be able to do so with this scholarship and new connection with the Kosciuszko Foundation.
“It’s something really special to me that I’m able to pursue my passion in dentistry alongside embracing my heritage and my culture,” Kaczor said.