Graduating Members of the USSDA Come Together

Graduating members of GSDM’s Uniformed Services Student Dental Association (USSDA) came together on May 7, 2012, with their faculty advisors Drs. Karl Flanzer and David Gabelman, as well as Assistant Dean of Students Dr. Joseph Calabrese and Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter to reflect on their time at the School of Dental Medicine and share what lies ahead for each of them.

Following graduation, Air Force members Peter Lee DMD 12 and Thomas O’Connor DMD 12 will head to Officer Training School at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. Once they complete their training, Lee will begin an AEGD residency at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska. O’Connor will also begin an AEGD residency program at Travis AFB in Fairfield, California.

Members of the Navy will head to Officer Development School in Newport, Rhode Island. Following completion of their officer training, Derrick Call DMD 12 will begin an AEGD residency at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base in San Diego, California. Brad Cammack DMD 12 will begin a General Practice Residency in 2013 at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. Christian Lares DMD 12 will report for duty at Naval Commander Fleet Activities in Yokosuka, Japan. Kevin Ryan will begin a General Practice Residency at Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Members of the Army will also be busy. Aaron Baumler DMD 12 heads to Fort Sill in Oklahoma to practice General Dentistry. Lucinda Barry DMD 12 heads to Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina for an AEGD residency. Seth Caldon DMD 12 and Kony Park DMD 12 both begin AEGD residencies at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington.

Said Call, “Membership in the USSDA this year really helped with things like applying for post-doc residencies, getting to know dentists in the military, and exercising with the group to get ready for basic training. It was great to have the chance to participate in all this with the other members in the group.”

Added Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter, “I am very proud of these honorable students who will soon move to all corners of the US and beyond and put the dental skills and knowledge that we have taught them here at the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine to good use serving the men and women of the armed forces, and our country. I wish them safe travels and the best of success as they embark on their new adventures.”