Recognizing student leadership at U of T Dentistry
By Allan Britnell
Five Faculty of Dentistry students — Shawna Rieux, Madonna Rofaeel, Laura Sliwkanich, Susie Son, and Tina Tsai — were recently recognized as recipients of the University of Toronto’s prestigious Student Leadership Award (formerly the Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award).
“We are very proud of our students,” says professor Laura Tam 8T5 associate dean of undergraduate education at the Faculty of Dentistry. “The calibre of students that apply to the program is exceedingly high.”
Leading by example
To be acknowledged as a student leader requires taking on leadership roles within the school and beyond. Each of the five Faculty of Dentistry recipients embraced those roles in numerous ways.
DDS4 student Laura Sliwkanich has been class president for each of her four years at U of T. Though the sports fanatic has a confession to make, “I actually wanted to be the sports rep.” Instead, she satisfied that need by joining some of the school’s intramural teams, winning the indoor soccer championship in her first year. Other volunteer activities included serving as vice president of student life, external, for the Dental Students’ Society (DSS), and mentoring roles including with the Big Sibs/Little Sibs program and serving as a peer mentor. “One of the things that I absolutely love is mentoring.”
One of many volunteer hats that Susie Son donned was DSS president in her final year. “I’m sort of the bridge between students, senior leadership and faculty,” she says of that role. She was also an active participant in the Big Sibs/Little Sibs program, was involved in the annual Oral Health, Total Health initiative for people with special needs, and even played keyboard in the annual Dentantics show in a group whose name only a dental student could truly appreciate: The Buccal Pit Band.
Shawna Rieux served on class council, on the Student Professionalism and Ethics Association, as vice-president of academics for the DSS and more. She’s proud of how her work helps improve the educational experience of all her classmates. “I advocated on behalf of my class about actionable changes to the curriculum and the improved dissemination of course material.”
Rewarding experiences
Madonna Rofaeel’s many roles included serving as vice-president of student life, internal, for the DSS, a student ambassador, orientation week coordinator, and being a member of class council. “I enjoyed participating in these activities as it allowed me to work with people who I may not have had the chance to meet outside of clinic and class,” says Rofaeel. “Dental school is a demanding program and building that network of support has made the last four years a lot more enriching for me.”
Similarly, Tina Tsai, who served as vice-president, finance, of the DSS for her final three years along with various mentoring roles and volunteering with Restoring Smiles, a nonprofit that offers dental care to vulnerable women, praises the social connections these activities provided her. “I missed out on a lot of the typical high school and undergraduate life experiences because I was too shy and lacked the confidence to meet people and get involved,” says Tsai. “The most rewarding part by far is the relationships I built with peers, faculty and administrators.”
Each of the five recipients of the Student Leadership Award expressed the joy and pride they felt at receiving this honour. Rofaeel sums it up nicely: “I was elated! It was very rewarding to see my efforts recognized on a university-wide scale.”
Just the beginning
Of course, these leadership and volunteer activities don’t begin and end with dental school. “This has been a part of me for as long I can remember,” says Son adding that, one day, “I would love to travel abroad and provide mobile dental care.”
That’s a goal that Rieux shares as well. “I hope to be a part of many mission trips to provide needed care in parts of the world that have issues with access.” She and Sliwkanich both see themselves in teaching roles somewhere in the future.
Tam points out that this honour is just the beginning for these soon-to-be graduates as they start their careers. “They are natural leaders with skills and abilities that will enable them to adopt multiple leadership roles within the communities they practice, dental organizations and specialties, and in academia.”