Ann Arbor, MI — May 12, 2011 — Five dental students and one dental hygiene student from University of Michigan School of Dentistry were recently awarded scholarships from the Michigan Dental Association to help them defray the cost of their education.  Recipients of the scholarships must be U.S. citizens, Michigan residents, and attend Michigan universities.  The students are:

Jennifer Broers, a third-year dental student from Alpena, Michigan, received a $2,000 Robert Mitus Award.  Broers said she hopes to become an associate at a dental practice after graduation and ultimately run her own dental practice.

Steven Davis, a fourth-year dental student from Gladstone, Michigan, received a $1,000 IFG Scholarship Award.  “The award has allowed me to purchase more clinically-based textbooks that will be excellent resources when I am in clinical practice,” he said.  Davis, who wants to become a resident or an associate at a private practice, said he would ultimately like to teach clinical dentistry.

Travis Mattson, a third-year dental student from the town of Watersmeet in the western Upper Peninsula, received a $500 John G. Nolen Award.  After receiving his dental degree, he hopes to enter a GPR or AEGD program with the goal of becoming a private practitioner.

Brent Medema, a third-year dental student from Portage, Michigan, received a $2,000 Robert Mitus Award.  He hopes to become an associate or begin training in a dental specialty.  His ultimate goal is to start a practice in West Michigan.

Michael Wierenga, a third-year dental student from Grand Rapids, also received a $2,000 Robert Mitus Award.  Advising other dental students “to get involved in outreach in some way,” he spent a week in Honduras this spring providing oral health care.  After graduation, Wierenga said he plans to go into private practice or enter a residency program.  His ultimate goal is to practice general dentistry in Michigan.

Patricia Walch, a dental hygiene student from Chelsea, Michigan, received a $1,000 Robert Mitus Award.   Walch said she wants to earn a master’s degree in dental hygiene

Funds for the Mitus Awards are made available from the family of Dr. Robert Mitus (DDS 1978), an honorary MDA past president who was a leader in efforts to establish the Michigan Dental Association Foundation in the late 1990s.  A former past president of the West Michigan District Dental Society, he also served on the MDA’s Board of Trustees before he died in 1999.

The Nolen Award is named for the late Dr. John G. Nolen (DDS 1944) who was the MDA’s executive director for 21 years before he died in 2000.

The IFG Award is from the MDA’s Insurance and Financial Group which offers insurance coverage to dentists.