Our Students and Their Stories

It’s finally here—your guide to the students and their many acronyms.  Meet Cornel, Raquel, Courtney, Hanako and many, many more.  Plus, we publish the results of the recent student government elections below, and Dean and Mrs. Park host the annual Dean's Dinner for the third-year class.

Welcome PPID Students    
The Professional Program for International Dentists (PPID) is an intensive two-year advanced standing program offering foreign-trained dentists a DDS degree from UCLA and the opportunity for licensure in the United States.  Begun in 2002, the program is fully integrated with the traditional four-year DDS program.  Following a rigorous orientation curriculum during the summer quarter, the PPID students join their classmates in third-year courses.

This summer, 12 students from around the world joined the Class of 2008.  We would like to welcome: Cornel Crasnean of Romania, Lei Zeng and Tiffany Hsu of China, Poonam Rai, Asha Sethu-Madhaven, Dilshad Abtin, and Amandeep Iqbal of India, Steve Kim of Korea, Heidi Gonzalez de Stubblefield and Claudia Thomas of Venezuela, Claudia Rodriquez of Colombia, and Jan Slapnicka of the Czech Republic.

AUM Stands for Asahi-UCLA-Meikai. . . Japanese Exchange Students Visit UCLA
For more than a decade, educational entrepreneur and philanthropist Dr. Susumu Miyata has sponsored an educational exchange program (known informally as AUM) for the students of the UCLA School of Dentistry and two dental schools at Meikai and Asahi Universities in Japan.  Then, last year, Dr. Miyata presented the UCLA School of Dentistry with a $1 million gift to create the Dr. Susumu Miyata Endowment for Educational and Cultural Exchange.

As part of the most recent student exchange, five Asahi University students and five Meikai University students—along with a member of the faculty from each of these schools—visited UCLA for ten busy days in mid-August. As a group, they attended lectures on the United States systems of health care and dental education, observed patient care in the UCLA School of Dentistry General Clinic, and visited Dr. Kagawa’s dental office in Little Tokyo.  They also toured Hollywood, attended a Dodgers game and made a trip to Disneyland.

Everyone involved in the exchange this summer enjoyed meeting Keita Aoki, Yusuke Asai, Risa Egawa, Hanako Fukui, Ryoichi Hagihara, Akiko Kihara, Miki Matsuoka, Noriko Mukai, Yuki Nishino, Shinpei Takeda, Dr. Joichiro Hayashi and Dr. Koji Yamamoto.

One of the exchange students, Hanako Fukui from Meikai University, explained that there were many reasons she applied to participate in the program.   “I wanted to come here to see UCLA, to see how the students learn, to meet UCLA students, and to make friends with the students,” she said.

By all appearances, Hanako’s trip to Los Angeles met her expectations and fulfilled her goals.

“Both the UCLA students and the Japanese students can't wait for our trip in March,” expressed Raquel Ulma, one of the UCLA student hosts who will travel to Asahi and Meikai Universities in the spring to complete the annual exchange.

Raquel Ulma, Former OA
As a girl growing up in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Raquel Ulma excelled in math and science.  She also loved wood-working, a skill she learned from her father.  Raquel graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a bachelor’s degree in science, then traveled to Hawai’i where she completed a master’s degree in chemistry and found a job as a laboratory scientist.  When she applied to dental school, she made multiple visits to UCSF and UOP, but UCLA was “where I felt most comfortable.  I felt welcome,” she explained.

Maybe that’s because Raquel was an OA, or outreach affiliate, who worked diligently under the guidance of the UCLA School of Dentistry’s Dr. Marvin Marcus and Dr. Bruce Sanders to prepare for the challenge of the dental school application process.  Dr. Marcus advised Raquel to gain hands-on patient care experience by assisting at the Wilson-Jennings-Bloomfield UCLA Venice Dental Center.  Dr. Bruce Sanders, meanwhile, was responsible for walking Raquel through the mock interview process.  “It was quite an eye-opener,” she said.  “I’m glad I went through it.”  As she studied for the DAT exam, Raquel also drew on her earlier life experiences to tutor other outreach affiliate and post-baccalaureate program students in chemistry and perceptual ability.

Now entering her third year as a dental student, Raquel is completely satisfied with the choice she made in enrolling at UCLA.  “Within two years, I learned all this.  They really care that you learn here,” she said of her professors.  Raquel also expressed deep appreciation for the support that Dr. Marcus and Dr. Sanders gave to her.  “They were instrumental.  It’s really sad that someday they will retire.”

With luck, one day Raquel will enter academic dentistry and carry on their mentoring tradition.

This summer, we’re saying goodbye to Courtney Naten, manager of the pre-clinical and clinical teaching labs, and hello to Courtney Naten, post-bacc student. After two years as an employee of the UCLA School of Dentistry, Courtney will be enrolling this fall in the Southern California Regional Post-Baccalaureate Program at UCLA funded by the California Endowment.

Working in the labs, Courtney interacted closely with the students and the faculty, getting a bird’s-eye view of what dental school would really be like and reaffirming his desire to enter the dental profession.  Now, as a post-bacc, Courtney will spend a year preparing to apply to dental school.  He will take courses in cell tissues and organs, dental waxing and dental morphology and study for the DAT.  It has been three years since Courtney graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in pharmacology.  Once he has completed his courses at the dental school and UCLA Extension, he will receive a certificate in life sciences.

Courtney grew up in the small town of Wilton, California, outside Sacramento.  During all four of his high school years, he worked for a dentist whom he cites as a close friend and a mentor to this day.  Like him, Courtney hopes to be a general practitioner in a small community.  “I like his lifestyle—his interaction with his patients, and his freedom,” Courtney explained.

We wish the best for Courtney as he makes the transition from staff member to student.

Pick up the Premier Issue of The Explorer
The inaugural issue of The Explorer, the Journal of UCLA Student Dental Research will be published soon.  It will be distributed throughout the School—in the student lounge, next to the Group Practice Administrators’ desks, etc.  Students interested in reading the journal can email Natalie Nguyen at nguyen81@ucla.edu for copies if they have trouble obtaining it.

Student Election Results Are In!
Shervin Molayem Casts His Vote    
The students have voted and the ballots have been counted.  The results of the recent student elections are as follows:
Class of 2007 Officers

President                                             
Vice Presidents                                    

Secretary                                             
Treasurer                                              
ADEA Representative                           
Alumni Association Representative        
ASDA Representative                           
Health Science Committee Rep             
Social Chairs                                        

Sports Chair                                         
Student Performance Committee Rep        
Melissa Chin
Daniel Gill
Ha Nguyen
DT Fields
Jennifer Perkins
Soomin Richard Kim
Eriq Nguyen
Tina Beck
Nahal Heyrani
Karen Potter
Thien (Sam) Trang
Kyu Kang
Melissa Shing

Class of 2008 Officers    
President                                             
Vice Presidents                                    

Secretary                                             
Treasurer                                             
ADEA Representative                           
ASDA Representatives                         

California Dental Association Rep         
Curriculum Committee Representative    
Health Sciences Committee Rep           
Patient Care Committee Rep                 
Social Chairs                                        

Sports Chair                                       
Student Equipment/Supply Rep     
Student Performance Committee          
Admissions Committee Representative  
Alumni Association Representative            
Ryan Plewe
Morris Poole
Amy Dixon
Regina Espinoza
Kevin Omoto
Brandon Seto
Sanaz Hamzehpour
Shelby Padua
Chris Claus
Raquel Ulma
Alfredo Paredes
Colby Smith
Colby Smith
Stacy Yu
Kevin Omoto
Neilesh Patel
Elizabether Miltner
Jun Flores
Naomi Nguyen

Class of 2009 Officers    
President                                            
Vice Presidents                                    

Secretary                                             
Treasurer                                             
ADEA Representative                           
ASDA Representative                         

Health Sciences Committee Rep         
Patient Care Committee Rep               
Social Chairs                                        

Sports Chair                                       
Student Equipment/Supply Rep            
Student Performance Committee             
Keith Cowhey
Leedia Riman
Kim Quilao
Niloufar Nouri-Mahdavie
Stephen Ruso
Anne Reeves
Aldrich Sy
Jelson Yalung
Kristen Lowe
Aldrich Sy
Robert Sharobiem
Ryan Kriwanek
Stephen Ruso
Andrew Chang
Brian Ashbury

Dr. No-Hee and Mrs. Yuly Park Hosted the Annual Dean's Dinner for the Third-Year Class August 26, 2006