What does ASDA really stand for?

What does ASDA really stand for?

As we begin to adjust to life in the new semester, it is easy to become overwhelmed with the daunting future your schedule holds. Maybe looking into just the next week is enough to stimulate heart palpitations. But this year, I challenge you all to step out of your comfort zone and take a step to invest in the future of our profession. I challenge you to find what motivates you and become actively involved. I know this sounds crazy. With so many important items already on your to-do list, how could you possibly think about getting more involved with an organization and have yet another task added to your list?!  But my question to you is, how could you not?  

When I was a pre-dental student just out of college, I joined ASDA and learned what it meant to be a unified student body and the importance of generating a collaborative force for the dental profession. The importance of making our voice heard and taking a step towards progressive change to better the outcomes for our patients and creating a more ethical workforce is of upmost importance to the future of our profession. Joining ASDA has been the best decision I have made thus far in my career as a professional student. What you can get out of ASDA is a direct correlation of the effort you put into the organization. The ASDA acronym stands for the American Student Dental Association, but it surprisingly has a different meaning for each student.

Here is what ASDA means to me:  

A: Accountability

ASDA has introduced me to numerous students across the country that have encouraged me throughout my journey in dental school and pushed me to grow as a leader. It has provided a great support system with so many new friends that go through similar struggles as we learn to navigate this life in dental school. This network of dental students helps create a sense of belonging and has made the biggest impact on my attitude in school.

S: Savvy

Houston ASDA knows when there is a will there is a way. If there is a cavity we will fill it. If there is a need we will address it. Whenever a void is felt in our organization we step up to create a committee or an event to service that need. I love the innovation we have seen this year and the growth it has provided for our chapter.

D: Dedicated

Our ASDA chapter is dedicated to service outreach in our community and to providing opportunities to give back. I love the dedication to pre-dental involvement our chapter encourages rock-star applicants to choose our school as their home. We are dedicated to our advocacy efforts and educating students at our school how their voice can be heard. 

A: Accomplished

I could not be more proud of our ASDA chapter here at Houston. We continue to work to become the Ideal ASDA chapter and it never ceases to amaze me how much we can accomplish with this team. I am so proud to be one of the leaders in this chapter and love that I can call Houston ASDA my home.

Healthy for the Holidays

Healthy for the Holidays

The holidays are hard when you are trying to be healthy. Maintaining your health this holiday season isn’t just about eating right. Our focus needs to be on nutrition, activity, and stress relief as we navigate through the best time of the year. These are my tips for staying healthy while still enjoying the holidays.

1)    Eat breakfast. Yes, you are going to have some large, heavy meals over the holiday season. It is tempting to skip breakfast on those days. Don’t fall into the trap! Eating a light breakfast with protein and complex carbohydrates will get your metabolism going for the rest of the day. And speaking of metabolism….

2)    Keep moving! The holidays can lead to a lot of down time when visiting family. When everyone is sitting on the couch watching their fourth hour of football, take the opportunity to exercise or go on a walk.

3)    Don’t deprive yourself of your favorite foods. We all have that one holiday food that we refuse to even think about the number of calories that are actually in it. For me, it's the scalloped potatoes. They are my favorite. When loading up your plate for your big Thanksgiving or Christmas meal, try to fill 75% of your plate with meat and vegetables (real vegetables if they are an option- not vegetable casseroles or vegetables coated in butter and brown sugar). Then that last 25% of your plate can be dedicated to the bad stuff. One calorie dense side is not going to completely blow your diet.

4)    Another thing about those vegetables… Sometimes the veggies are deceiving. We normally think that veggies are the healthiest thing we could eat during the holidays, but some of the cooked vegetable recipes have so much butter and sugar in them that you may as well be eating dessert. The moral of this story is that if those veggies don’t look like they were steamed or are being served raw, skip them and have that extra piece of pie. It probably has the same amount of calories.

5)    Lastly, be thankful. The holidays are so busy that we often forget to stop and enjoy them. Take the time to breath every once in a while this holiday season, and cherish the time you spend with friends and family. Having time off of dental school gives us a unique opportunity to slow down our minds and reflect on our lives. Use this time to be grateful for the opportunity to study dentistry even though it’s tough. No matter what is going on in everyone’s personal lives, we are all lucky to be pursuing a career we are passionate about.

Dental School is a Marathon

Dental School is a Marathon

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard “dental school is a marathon” or “your dental career is a marathon” since beginning dental school. As an amateur runner with some 5Ks, 10Ks, and half marathons under my belt, this metaphor resonated with me. This imagery motivated me my first year as I imagined my whole career before me, the hard work it was going to take, and the great rewards of helping people due to the time I put in.

Then I started training the fall of my D2 year for an ACTUAL marathon. And man, did the “dental school is a marathon” thing take on a whole new meaning.

Marathon training has taught me so many valuable lessons and has really broadened my outlook on my approach to my goals. I want to share some of the lessons I have learned.

1. Begin with the end in mind. Every day, focus on the why - Why do I do what I do? For my marathon, this “why” is crossing the finish line at the end of my first race. For my dental career, it is the lifelong goal of helping people and giving them reasons to smile more. I have realized in school and with my marathon training that if you aren’t grounded in the “why”, the hard work you have to put in gets a lot harder.
2. Rest and taking care of yourself is essential. Training for a 26.2 mile race can be tough on your body, and so can dentistry without proper ergonomics. Taking time to rest not only physically, but also intellectually and spiritually can help renew and refresh you in order to be at your best every day.
3. Pace yourself. 26.2 miles is run One. Step. At. A. Time. We as dental students have a lot going on - If I endlessly obsess about everything I have to do in the next two months, I would have a pretty rough time. Focus on one task at a time. Think about the next thing you should do, then do it!
4. If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Without adherence to a training schedule, I can’t expect to just show up on race day and run 26.2 miles. Everything in a marathon is one step at a time - every day trying your best to push yourself a little more. Every day, all we have to give is our best effort. It has taken me a long time to realize that doing my best is what I should strive for rather than being the best. Reach out for help always, don’t be afraid to acknowledge where you know you can improve.

Overall, I think what I’ve heard about dental school as a marathon is pretty true. Marathons are about commitment, dedication, and perseverance - all very important character values we need to be reminded of sometimes in school. All of that hard work is going to pay off when I cross the finish line.

Houston ASDA: A Journey from Coarse to Fine

Houston ASDA

A Journey from Coarse to Fine

            The American Student Dental Association. If you would’ve asked me 3 years ago what this organization meant to me I wouldn’t have had the slightest idea of what the organization even was. I found out about ASDA a few months before starting dental school when I stumbled upon the Houston ASDA Facebook page. I began to see all of the great events that Houston ASDA had and what the organization stood for---I was automatically intrigued, wanted to learn more and get involved. I began researching what ASDA was and came to find out how Houston ASDA embodied and mirrored the national mission statement of protecting and advancing the rights, interests, and welfare of dental students. Most importantly it was a way to introduce students to lifelong involvement in organized dentistry which is an opportunity that is unlike any other organization. It was evident to me that this organization was one that provided opportunities of enrichment beyond what dental school had to offer—the ASDA fever was real!

            I immediately got involved with Houston ASDA serving as First Year Delegate alongside many other Houston ASDA leaders who showed me the ropes and all things ASDA. Throughout dental school I have seen the efforts of many leaders help transform our entire leadership and chapter around. We have had people like Adam Shisler, Katie Sowa, and Andrew Naeger spend countless hours behind re-structuring and refining our chapter into what it is today. The backbone of Houston ASDA lies in the committees and each member that makes up these committees. Every year I am left in awe at the commitment and dedication that each committee puts into making sure that they hit every goal that they put forth in front of them. Each leader adds an exceptional value to the organization as a whole. Most importantly, we would not be the chapter we are today if it weren’t for the passion for dentistry that our student body has. I truly enjoy seeing the passions that our students embody with regard to organized dentistry and their efforts to join us in our events that help expand their interest in this realm and beyond.

            The transformation to the Houston ASDA we are today started around 2009, but even within the last 3 years I have seen the organization grow in ways that have been absolutely extraordinary. Today you are reading this first blog post on our brand new website that truly helps exemplify who we are as a chapter. We have a new phone application that is used nearly daily from sending out push notifications to our students to checking in at our many events that we hold. We have a cooking Youtube series, a new Casino Night project in the works, an ever expanding lunch and learn program, an exceptional pre dental committee that works closely with Texas predental societies including our new National ASDA Predental Chapter at U of H, an outstanding newsletter, events to promote community involvement and awareness, a brand new wellness committee that helps promote physical and mental wellness throughout dental school, and much more! To write our accomplishments out in a blog post would truly not serve justice to the hard work that our leaders have put in to the many events that we have completed.

             It is difficult not to be proud of Houston ASDA. We have come a long way and continue to grow as an organization. I look forward to what the future holds for Houston ASDA. With brand new minds being added to the leadership yearly, creative and innovative ideas are also included with their addition. We strive to reach new heights and set goals higher than the year prior. We continue to polish who we are as an organization to a finer version of ourselves.

We are Students. We are ASDA Gold Crown. We are Houston ASDA.