Stratz, Taylor Launch Capstone Project

By Anne Gwozdek

Dental hygiene students Audrey Stratz and Nikia Taylor recently launched their Capstone Project for the Dental Scholars program.

Established in 2006, the Scholars Program in Dental Leadership, as it's formally known, is a leadership program that brings together a select number of exceptional dental and dental hygiene students with diverse backgrounds to help them develop a leadership mindset and skills they can use to foster change in dentistry, dental hygiene, education, research, or academia.

The Capstone Project, where students investigate a major issue and then develop a program that attempts to address that issue, is a concluding effort that encompasses everything students learned while they were involved in the Dental Scholars program.

Communication, Networking Vital

Last spring, Stratz and Taylor learned from a survey of their dental hygiene classmates that they wanted communication and networking among the three classes enhanced. The Student American Dental Hygienists' Association (SADHA) was identified as the professional association that offered the framework for addressing those issues.

To make that wish a reality, Stratz and Taylor, who are also SADHA and senior class officers, began a "Building Our Community" program.

"The most difficult part was trying to get everyone to understand what we were trying to do and why," Stratz said.

During a kickoff program last fall, Taylor said, "We are a community within the dental school and we want to foster a greater sense of community among all of you in the three dental hygiene classes. We want this to be the start of greater interaction, not just among your fellow classmates, but with others in the other dental hygiene classes."

She emphasized it was important "that we begin building a sense of community, including building personal and professional relationships among each other because these will be important with our careers after we graduate."

With Bob the Builder as the mascot, student teams were identified by tools such as a shovel, saw, hammers, etc. They were led by the SADHA reps and class officers who donned hard hats. Several ice breaking and team building activities took place in the Sindecuse Atrium.

"Better Connected"

Linking the students to the professional dental hygiene community, Danie Furgeson, manager of student relations with the American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA), commended students for their enthusiasm and assuming leadership roles and described some of the ways ADHA supports students.

Following Friday's events, Michelle Comber, president of the Dental Hygiene Class of 2008, said, "I wish we had this event several years ago when I began. Now, I have a greater understanding of SADHA, professional resources, and feel better connected with members of all three classes."

The following day, leaders had an opportunity to attend a SADHA Leadership Workshop hosted by Furgeson. She engaged students in exploring their roles as change agents, focusing on topics that included negotiations, advocacy, fiscal responsibility, public speaking, and professional writing.

Both Taylor and Stratz were pleased with the outcome of the program. "This was a wonderful opportunity for my fellow classmates to demonstrate they are change agents, as students," Taylor said. "We can take this energy and what we learned and apply it in our personal lives and professional careers." Both are confident that other dental hygiene students will assume leadership of the program after they graduate this spring.