Links

06 Fall

DS1 Class Update

Brandon Holyoak

Ever wonder what that new smell is hovering around the Fitzsimmons Campus lately' No, it's not the elevated levels of copper and lead in the water, it's not even the hygiene department having yet another pizza party in the basement lounge. It's that time of year again when the first years spend every breaking moment in anatomy lab at the Colorado and 9th campus. Aside from the utter confusion, table 2's strange 'fetor' and the splash back, it's really not all that bad. With that in mind I'm sure we all can agree that it will be nice to graduate from the humidors and move on to something new.


First years

Our first semester of dental school has proven to be a memorable one. From the very start, our 12 lovely accountable students set out to personally contact every politician, news anchor, and/or administrator with their opinions about the new tuition policy. Several hundred signatures later and nearly $50.00 in stamps proved to be worthwhile when both sides were able to reach an agreement. Since then, babies have been born (you know who you are), libraries have been contacted, teeth waxed (or what we hope resemble teeth), and a long list of things that have made dental school something to remember. Can't wait 'til Christmas!

DS2 Class Update

Derek Petersen

Coming off of our stellar performance on Part I of the National Dental Board Examinations, the Class of 2009 got off to a great start this year. It became obvious that year number two at the School of Dentistry was going to be much better than the first year (hang in there DS-I's) when Dr. French informed us that he raffles Rockies and Avalanche tickets in class. Congrats to Mike Haymore, Cameron Birch, Kevin Baker, Raechel Johnson, and Ben Foley for winning the coveted prizes. Another stark improvement over the first year is that we get to look at Dr. Johnson's graphic periodontal disease photos during class rather than diagrams of the Citric Acid Cycle.

Although none of us were born dentists, our classes in restorative dentistry are certainly helping us get there. Most of us are feeling much more comfortable using indirect vision with a dental mirror. Special notice should go to Kelly Freeman for her progress in this area and her subsequent improvement in posture.

Speaking of Kelly, she got married in July-way to go! Other classmates have also had some major life events. Emily Caskey is engaged and will be married in August. Nate Moeller and Pete Carlson each had the addition of a new baby to their respective families. Kevin Baker, Derek Dean, Matt Hein, and Donovan Hansen are all expecting little ones in the near future.

Unfortunately, some members of our class have become better acquainted with the more evil part of our society. Cameron Birch was victimized by a misguided scooter theft, someone broke into Pete Carlson's pickup truck (nobody is quite sure why), and Brian Nazeri had his computer stolen. Their experiences serve as a reminder to us all to be careful with our belongings. And let's not forget the countless victims of the notorious Lunch Thief. Beware Lunch Thief, there is now the Lunch Vigilante...special treats await you. The Class of 2009 thanks the Lunch Vigilante for his efforts.

DS3 Class Update

Meghan Swanzy

It is incredible to think that we are actually third years. I remember walking into school our first year thinking the third and fourth years knew everything there was to know about dentistry and now I realize that I was exactly right! (or maybe we have realized that we have a LOT to learn). Congrats to all the new rugrats born into our extended dental family of 23 class babies! Whitney and Dallas are both first time fathers, while Nate and Derrick are on their second round of parenthood.


Winning the award for the dental student doing everything in her power to maximize life stress-congrats to Van on her third baby! Now that the third year ladies see pregnancy and dental school go hand in hand, Gail is well on her way to adding a little darling to her family...who is next ladies??? We've also got those that are ready to take the next step in their relationships and are now engaged. Sharla and Jeff Kramer are both engaged to their high school sweethearts, all four coming from the same high school, I wonder if they too had elevated levels of lead and copper in the water in Ft. Collins back in the day that 'lead' to true love! Reid is also tying the knot soon, while Roxanna is going to actually prove to all of us that she did in fact tie the knot years ago as her husband will be joining us from Iraq finally-congrats to all of you guys!

As far as school is concerned, it sure has become a fun and stressful life. Who knew juggling classroom and clinic would actually be hard? Weird. The most important things that we have learned are simple. When Josh tears his achilles tendon, do not go anywhere near him, he is contagious. He infected Lina with this doozie and we hope this particular injury has run it's course in our class. We have also learned that it is apparently okay to answer cell phones in class when it's a 'patient in pain' and inform the caller "no, I'm not busy right now, what up?" We've learned that while Axium is infuriating, it has also allowed our class to remain at a constant number, as nobody will have to be kicked out of school for hoarding their charts in their locker so that they wouldn't magically disappear 10 minutes before an appointment. The most important of them all are the things we are learning to take in stride in the clinic. Just know that there will not be air water syringes when you need one, safety glasses will sit on the patients face, but do not expect them to be able to see anything through the forest of scratches.


Blood pressure cuffs are a rarity. Impressions are fun, especially when you do not have a scoop or a measuring cup. It is fun to find a patient with a perfect virgin lesion, only to turn around to 4th years hovering over your shoulder begging you for them for boards. The most important thing to know for survival in the clinic? Get there early, steal one of the tables and put as many things as possible on top of the table so that your neighbor won't steal it when you turn your back. These lessons are truly worth their weight in gold! In summary, we are having a ton of fun in the clinic and it is very exciting to see each other grow as dentists and finally get to prove to ourselves that drilling on plastic teeth pales in comparison to the thrill of real world dentistry. I think we have all realized that we have entered an incredibly exciting field, and the best part is that we are all getting closer to being REAL DENTISTS! WOOOHOOOOOO!”

DS4 Class Update

Eloisa Lavato

Tension is thick in the air as fourth years try to balance clinic and patients, ACTS, patient screening and studying for written part II Boards, but we manage to keep tight smiles on our faces despite the incredible work load. Several fourth years are also in the process of flying around the country for interviews into post-grad programs.

In between the stressful times, the flag football team managed to crown themselves champions as they were top in the league and other 'extenuating circumstances' (rumor has it that 'fists were flying') disqualified the two other teams remaining. Jess Adams and his wife Paula had their first baby, Jeff Mitchell had his second with wife Katie, Aaron Rasmussen and wife Mindy are expecting number four and Duffy Meyer is expecting her second child. If her timing it right, Baby Meyer won't be here until after clinical boards.

Eloisa Lovato recently got engaged and is planning a 2008 Hawaiian wedding, Sara Sybrant is now Mrs. Marchbanks, and over Christmas break, Jessica Rak will marry her fiance Sean Stevens in sunny Mexico. By the way, congratulate Colin Campbell who has not only managed to finish all but one or two competencies needed to graduate, he as learned how to look good doing it by shedding major pounds along the way.

Not much else is new with the fourth year class other than the fact that we're getting antsy to get done and get out on our own. Happy Holidays and good wishes from the Class of 2007!

ISP 2007 Class Update

Omid Mehdipour

It has now been over 10 months that we have enjoyed since starting our course at the University of Colorado, School of Dentistry. We are not only upgrading our knowledge in the art and science of dentistry, but we are also learning a lot about the attractions of Colorado and also about the people here. Some of us moved directly from our own country to Colorado and some moved to other states before moving here. We had heard about the natural beauty of Colorado before but we didn't know it is THIS BEAUTIFUL! We have had the fabulous spring and summer, and now we are experiencing the fall and eagerly waiting for the beautiful winter to have fun skiing and participating in other outdoor activities.

Besides studying hard for never-ending tests and also the responsibilities of patient care, we have tried to have some fun with things such as picnics, international food parties, birthday celebrations and also activities like karaoke, dodgeball, soccer, hiking and programs with other dental students. Thank you to all the American students for making us feel so welcome in the school and outside of the school. All of us are blessed to have these opportunities in Colorado that we will miss after graduation.

Our latest fun event was a Greek style bridal party for two of our soon to be married classmates, Lyda and Mario, to whom we wish the best. After the first lady and the president of our class (Raquel and Andre Jham), they are the second couple. The party had a Greek theme with white tops, crowns of leaves on invitees' heads, our dear Maggie was acting as Aphrodite (Greek goddess of love and beauty) and also some other fun games and competitions. Very delicious Greek food was also served. Dr.Harvan, Dr. Newman, Dr.Towne and Trina were our special guests.

There are two more events coming soon, the first one is the celebration of ISP 2006's graduation that will be on December 15th. After two years challenge and hard working they finally made it. They will be eligible to have their dental licensure again-warmest CONGRATULATIONS from ISP 2007! The second event will be a welcome reception to 20 coming students of ISP 2008 on Dec 13th. Their orientation will be on Dec.11th, which will last for three days. Their diversity is interesting because there are students from Uganda, China and Egypt. WELCOME guys!

ISP 2006 Class Update

Kristina Baar

Being two weeks away from graduation, life shines in all it's bright colors for ISP 2. Most of us are packing our bags and getting ready to leave sunny Colorado for Florida, Texas, New York, Tennessee. We are sad to "break up" our little family, but such is life. On the bright side, everybody is almost done with regional boards and waiting for their licences. Kristina and Pranav are waiting to hear from the GPR programs that they applied to. Claudia Colorado is exploring all the prosthodontic programs. Andrey and Sefik are looking to join the academic world and educate the youth of all the secrets of dentistry. The rest of the class is looking for practices to join.

Anastasia is expecting a baby boy sometime in January and therefore her baby shower will be our last party for this year together as a class. Ruxi was kind to offer her house for the celebration. Andrey's brother is currently visiting the USA for the first time and is practicing English in the natural environment. Claudia Burrows had a housewarming party for her new house in Boulder.

Everybody is welcome to join our graduation ceremony on the 15th of December 10 am in the Shore Auditorium at Nighthorse Campbell building