{"id":145507,"date":"2018-10-25T17:19:21","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T21:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?post_type=school-college-post&p=145507"},"modified":"2019-01-28T17:30:06","modified_gmt":"2019-01-28T22:30:06","slug":"congressional-visit-uconn-school-dental-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2018\/10\/congressional-visit-uconn-school-dental-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Congressional Visit to UConn School of Dental Medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney recently came to UConn Health to meet with UConn dental student members of the American Student Dental Association (ASDA).<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came to meet with us as ASDA aims to discuss legislative issues that pertain to us as current students and future health care providers,\u201d says Taleen Kalajian, a second-year dental student and UConn ASDA delegate. \u201cWe wanted to gain insight into what is currently being done at the Congressional level in order to pass different bills and raise awareness about current issues that have the potential to impact our education and future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rep.
Dental student Jessica Rudman addresses Rep. Joe Courtney during the congressman\u2019s visit to the UConn School of Dental Medicine. (Photo by Taijah Anderson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chief among those issues is student debt. By some estimates the average American dental student graduates with nearly $300,000 in debt. Courtney, a senior member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, discussed the Aim Higher Act, which his committee introduced in July. It\u2019s a reauthorization of previous legislation that would provide students with a chance to earn a debt-free degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne pillar of the Aim Higher Act is to protect and expand public service loan forgiveness programs,\u201d says classmate Marina Zoghbi, a UConn ASDA legislative co-chair. \u201cThe Aim Higher Act also allows students to refinance high-interest loans to lower rates. I really appreciated that he is committed to advocating for students pursuing higher education.\u201d<\/p>\n

The congressman held a roundtable with seven members of UConn\u2019s ASDA chapter: Zoghbi, Kalajian, Jessica Rudman, Mariamma Chaluparamabil, Eric Ress, Shiyuan Mao, and Cameron Christiansen. They met for about 30 minutes in the dental admissions office following a tour of the renovated dental care center and the simulation lab Oct. 18. Other topics of discussion included access to care and the opioid epidemic.<\/p>\n

Chaluparamabil, the chapter\u2019s president, and Rudman, a legislative delegate, had invited Courtney to visit during an ADA lobbying engagement in Washington, D.C., in the spring. Because of scheduling conflicts, it took several months to orchestrate.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s very down-to-earth, really listens to problems, and you really feel like he\u2019s listening to you,\u201d Rudman says. \u201cIt can be nerve-wracking when you\u2019re meeting someone like this, but he makes you feel at ease and able to talk about the issues that are important to you. It really helped us be comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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