pre-recorded awards ceremony<\/a> for the class of 2020, featuring well-wishes from faculty, an announcement of awards, and photos and videos to commemorate the graduating class.<\/p>\nThis awards ceremony is typically held the weekend before commencement. This year, commencement will occur virtually on Monday, May 11th.<\/p>\n
Dr. Steven Lepowsky, interim dean, kicked off the virtual awards ceremony.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout one thousand, three hundred and sixty days ago, you began a journey with us that will now culminate in the receipt of the Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in just a few more days from today,\u201d Lepowsky said. \u201cUndoubtedly, the journey has had some highs as well as some lows, but you persevered and, through incredible hard work and dedication, you are now ready to enter the next phase of your journey as a dental health care professional.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lepowsky also called the class of 2020 \u201ctrailblazers,\u201d noting that the class was the first to complete the new team based biomedical sciences curriculum, and also the first class to \u201cface a global pandemic head-on.”<\/p>\n
Dr. Al Natelli, president of the Connecticut State Dental Association and volunteer faculty member at the School of Dental Medicine urged the graduating class to consider joining organized dentistry, such as the American Dental Association.<\/p>\n
\u201cOrganized dentistry represents your profession. You\u2019re becoming a dentist. You\u2019re going to get your degree. You\u2019re going to be licensed. You\u2019re one of us now. The organization represents you nationally, at the state level, and at the local level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Natelli noted that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, organized dentistry has been on the forefront communicating important information on a variety of topics to dental professionals, including PPE, practice management, federal programs, patient management, mental health, and more.<\/p>\n
Dr. Sree Raghavendra, pre-doctoral clinic director, congratulated the graduating class, saying that it has been a privilege to have been a part of the class\u2019s education.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am grateful to be part of the journey. I have enjoyed working with all of you through ups and downs, and I know you will leave here stronger. Saying goodbye is very bittersweet, you will always be part of our UConn family,\u201d said Raghavendra.<\/p>\n
Dr. Donna Paolella, associate dean for admissions, offered her congratulations and reflected on how far the class has come since they first came to the School of Dental Medicine for their admissions interviews.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am so proud of all of you and all that you have accomplished over the past four years,\u201d said Paolella. \u201cIt was almost five years ago when the dental admissions cycle opened for the class of 2020. I remember inviting you all for interviews and meeting you for the first time. I was so impressed. I knew that this class would be special. And you are. And you have been.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish you the best and please know that we will always be here if you need us,\u201d Paolella concluded.<\/p>\n
Dr. Jacqueline Duncan, interim associate dean for clinical affairs, compiled words of congratulations and well wishes from faculty in prosthodontics to share with the graduating class.<\/p>\n
Dr. Eric Bernstein, interim associate dean for academic affairs, noted that the class of 2020 was the first to experience a brand new curriculum. The end of their dental education also posed a new challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cFour years ago you started in the new M Delta curriculum,\u201d said Bernstein. \u201cThis curriculum relied on a flipped classroom model. None of us knew just how flipped the end of your dental education would be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bernstein continued: \u201cThis unprecedented time created many opportunities for us to explore new ways of being and being and doing your dental education. And we did it together. And we all persevered. Always look for the path forward, continue persevering, and do it together. You deserve tremendous thanks from us and you\u2019ve earned the many great successes that are yet to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Sarita Arteaga, associate dean for students wrapped up the speaking program with a recap of the past four years, showing photos and videos of the students as they navigated the new curriculum as first-year students. Arteaga also showed off photos of the new clinics, equipment, and classrooms that the class was able to enjoy during their time at the UConn School of Dental Medicine.<\/p>\n
Arteaga also announced the residency placements of the class of 2020, as well as the awards they\u2019ve received for their academic achievements.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are here to celebrate and recognize and applaud you\u2014the class of 2020\u2014for your hard work and all of your accomplishments throughout these past years, being the first class in the M Delta curriculum and the first class to graduate virtually,\u201d said Arteaga. \u201cWe definitely emphasize the pinnacle of the sweat equity in these years that you have given into the best award that every student will receive\u2014the Doctor of Dental Medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n
The full list of awards and residency placements for the class of 2020 is below:<\/p>\n
Adzenyah, Akosua<\/strong><\/p>\nInterfaith Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY<\/p>\n
Arif,\u00a0 Yumma<\/strong><\/p>\nProvidence Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Providence, RI<\/p>\n
Badziai, Anastasiya<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA<\/p>\n
\n- American Academy of Periodontology Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Balloch, James<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Connecticut, Farmington, CT<\/p>\n
\n- American Association of Endodontists Student Achievement Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Barbar Joseph<\/strong><\/p>\nState University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY<\/p>\n
Bernstein, Jillian<\/strong><\/p>\nDanbury Hospital Dental Services, Danbury, CT<\/p>\n
\n- Horace Wells Senior Student Award from the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Bibber, Erin<\/strong><\/p>\nOhio State University\/Nationwide Childrens Hospital, Columbus, OH<\/p>\n
\n- American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Certificate of Merit<\/li>\n
- The Eleanor J. Bushbee Senior Dental Student Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Borgueta, Mica<\/strong><\/p>\nAdvanced Education in General Dentistry<\/p>\n
\n- Olmstead Prize in Geriatrics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Brainard, Danielle<\/strong><\/p>\nHartford Hospital, Hartford, CT<\/p>\n
\n- American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry Student Award of Merit<\/li>\n
- American Academy of Oral Medicine Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Brodeur, Felicia<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Connecticut, Farmington, CT<\/p>\n
Camiel, Ross<\/strong><\/p>\nBoston University – Goldman School, Boston, MA<\/p>\n
\n- American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Dental Student Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Chaluparambil, Mariamma<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Connecticut, Farmington, CT<\/p>\n
\n- 2019 ASDA Award of Excellence<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Chen, Henry<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of California – San Francisco, San Francisco, CA<\/p>\n
Dalal, Tapan<\/strong><\/p>\nMassachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA<\/p>\n
De La Torre, Liana<\/strong><\/p>\nAscension Macomb Hospital, Detroit, MI<\/p>\n
DeFilippo, Anthony<\/strong><\/p>\nMorristown Medical Center, Morristown, NJ<\/p>\n
\n- Academy of General Dentistry Senior Student Dental Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Dinesh, Anjali<\/strong><\/p>\nMontefiore Medical Center\/Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY<\/p>\n
\n- Surender Nanda Memorial Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Donovan, Callan<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Louisville, Louisville, KY<\/p>\n
\n- American Association of Orthodontists Award<\/li>\n
- International Congress of Oral Implantologists\/Dentsply Student Achievement Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Estrada, Demitria<\/strong><\/p>\nHartford Hospital, Hartford, CT<\/p>\n
Etemad, Lily<\/strong><\/p>\nOhio State University, Columbus, OH<\/p>\n
\n- Allan B. Reiskin Award<\/li>\n
- South Park Inn Dental Clinic Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Faraj, Mohaad<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Connecticut, Farmington, CT<\/p>\n
\n- Hanautm <\/sup>Best of the Best Prosthodontic Award<\/li>\n
- Phi Chi Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon 2020 Inductee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Figueroa-Ortiz, Jeremy<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI<\/p>\n
\n- Health Careers Mentorship Award<\/li>\n
- The Dr. Loeb Prize Fund<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Fitzgerald, Daniel<\/strong><\/p>\nState University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY<\/p>\n
\n- American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Dental Student Award<\/li>\n
- International College of Dentists Student Leadership Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Gambino, Dominic<\/strong><\/p>\nDanbury Hospital Dental Services, Danbury, CT<\/p>\n
\n- The Alumni Relations Award
\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nGreco, Brian<\/strong><\/p>\nNew York Veterans Administration Medical Center, New York, NY<\/p>\n
\n- American Academy of Implant Dentistry Student Award<\/li>\n
- Northeastern Society of Periodontists Award<\/li>\n
- Phi Chi Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon 2020 Inductee<\/li>\n
- The Quintessence Award for Research Achievement<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Harris, Lisa<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Connecticut, Farmington, CT<\/p>\n
Jimenez, Richard <\/strong><\/p>\nNew York University Langone Health, Tacoma, WA<\/p>\n
\n- Health Careers Mentorship Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Kosakowski, Maciej<\/strong><\/p>\nNew York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Campus, New York, NY<\/p>\n
\n- Academy of Dental Materials Award<\/li>\n
- Academy of Osseointegration Outstanding Dental Student in Implant Dentistry<\/li>\n
- American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Dental Student Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Kwok, Abraham<\/strong><\/p>\nNew York University Langone Health, Flatbush Family Health Center, Brooklyn, NY<\/p>\n
Lutaaya, Alfred<\/strong><\/p>\nDanbury Hospital Dental Services, Danbury, CT<\/p>\n
\n- Academy of Operative Dentistry Award<\/li>\n
- American College of Prosthodontists Achievement Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Millington, Grethel<\/strong><\/p>\nNew York Veterans Administration Medical Center, New York, NY<\/p>\n
\n- Academic Achievement Award 2020 Sponsored by the Provost\u2019s Commission on the Status of Women, The UConn Alumni Association, and the Women\u2019s Center<\/li>\n
- Kohrman Award<\/li>\n
- Phi Chi Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon 2020 Inductee<\/li>\n
- The Quintessence Award for Clinical Achievement in Periodontics<\/li>\n
- The Quintessence Award for Clinical Achievement in Restorative Dentistry<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Morrin, Robert<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Kentucky, Lexington, KY<\/p>\n
\n- Connecticut Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Award<\/li>\n
- Richard G. Topazian Prize<\/li>\n
- International College of Dentists Student Humanitarian Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Okafor, Chidinma<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI<\/p>\n
Ouyang, Huiyao<\/strong><\/p>\nFlushing Hospital and Medical Center, Flushing, NY<\/p>\n
Pacelli, Ashley<\/strong><\/p>\nDanbury Hospital Dental Services, Danbury, CT<\/p>\n
Parisi, Daniel<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Connecticut, Farmington, CT\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nPeracchio, Nicholas<\/strong><\/p>\nIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY<\/p>\n
\n- University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine Professional Development Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Pray, Nicholas<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Connecticut, Farmington, CT<\/p>\n
\n- Special Care Dentistry Association\/Academy of Dentistry for Persons with Disabilities Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Quevedo, Bridget<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Connecticut Business School, Hartford, CT<\/p>\n
Quinones, Erica<\/strong><\/p>\nNew York Medical College, Valhalla, NY<\/p>\n
\n- Commencement Student Speaker<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Ress, Eric<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Florida – Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL<\/p>\n
\n- American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Dental Implant Award<\/li>\n
- American College of Dentists Outstanding Student Leadership Award (Yankee Dental Congress)<\/li>\n
- American Prosthodontic Society Award<\/li>\n
- Friends of the School of Dental Medicine – Fox Award<\/li>\n
- Phi Chi Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon 2020 Inductee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Roh, Samuel<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Connecticut, Farmington, CT<\/p>\n
Rudman, Jessica<\/strong><\/p>\nTexas A&M University, College of Dentistry, Dallas, TX<\/p>\n
\n- American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Award<\/li>\n
- Phi Chi Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon 2020 Inductee<\/li>\n
- The Pierre Fauchard Academy Award<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Salm, Eric<\/strong><\/p>\nIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY<\/p>\n
Sharma, Ambika<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Louisville, Louisville, KY<\/p>\n
\n- American Association of Public Health Dentistry<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Shenoi, Aarya<\/strong><\/p>\nWest Palm Beach Veteran Affairs Medical Center, West Palm Beach, FL<\/p>\n
Staples, Ryane<\/strong><\/p>\nSan Antonio Military Medical Center, San Antonio, TX<\/p>\n
Sullivan, Emily<\/strong><\/p>\nSan Antonio Military Medical Center, San Antonio, TX<\/p>\n
Tsui, Stephanie<\/strong><\/p>\nHartford Hospital, Hartford, CT<\/p>\n
\n- Robert G. Levine Award<\/li>\n
- The Brian D. Stone Memorial Award
\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nWard, Zachary<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of California Los Angeles Dental Center at Venice, Venice, CA<\/p>\n
Zambrello, Matthew<\/strong><\/p>\nUniversity of Connecticut, Farmington, CT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This year\u2019s unprecedented circumstances did not stop the School of Dental Medicine from honoring the class of 2020 for their academic achievements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":160869,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2166],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2177],"class_list":["post-160864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sdm"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-25 20:52:20","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160864"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169560,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160864\/revisions\/169560"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/160869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160864"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=160864"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=160864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}