Talent Tuesday: Crafty Creations with Ali Hadian PERIO 28, Cesar Heleno DMD 25, and Gillian Reeder DMD 27
We know everyone at GSDM shares a love for all things dental. But what do GSDM students and residents enjoy doing outside of the classroom and patient treatment center?
This month, we will be publishing a four-part “Talent Tuesday” series featuring the talents or hobbies of 12 students and residents.
In the fourth installment, Ali Hadian PERIO 28, Cesar Heleno DMD 25, and Gillian Reeder DMD 27 express their desire to make something original.
Ali Hadian PERIO 28: Guitarist/Singer/Songwriter
During his childhood, Hadian was heavily influenced by his father–a cardiologist and music lover–to have a joint interest in medicine and art. But when his father passed away suddenly when Hadian was 12, he struggled to cope.
His mother and brother gave him a guitar to help him strengthen the signing ability that he shared with his father. Music would quickly become a significant part of his life, providing both solace and strength.
While he was a dental student in Iran, Hadian started to take professional singing lessons. He ended up booking numerous gigs, including performing at the closing ceremony of the 48th Congress of Iranian Dentistry, and formed a fusion rock band named ASUWA.
During this time, Hadian recorded many original songs he wrote. He has held onto to some of these songs for a decade and is now planning on releasing 14 tracks in two separate albums.
“Honestly, every day I’m thinking about music,” Hadian said. “Anytime that I find good sound or good voice or good text, I write it in notes or [record a] voice memo.”
Hadian and his wife, Setare, successfully ran a dental clinic in Iran for seven years before relocating to the United States in 2019. During those initial years in the U.S., Hadian’s guitar was his “constant friend” helping him stay inspired and motivated, he said. Now, as a student at GSDM, Hadian said he has focused on expanding his music skills, including learning how to arrange and master his own music.
“Specifically, in dentistry, you need hobbies,” Hadian said. “I think if I didn’t have music experience, I [would have] a lot of problems in dentistry. Having this ability made me powerful.”
Cesar Heleno DMD 25: Woodworker/Mechanic/“Inventor”
From transforming broken action figures into new toys to handcrafting a wooden racing cart, Heleno spent his childhood in Brazil inventing things. He hasn’t changed.
Heleno credits his passion for inventing to his father, who told him it’s important to be a creative person and to know how to use tools. He remembers his dad teaching him how to fix a motorcycle. Ever since, he’s been hooked on trying to figure out how to make things the best they can be.
“For me, I see the thing I’m doing or the product in my mind before I do anything,” Heleno said. “I start to imagine and can see problems and I can fix it in my mind. So, when I put my hands to work, the project’s already done in my head.”
When he came to the U.S., Heleno didn’t speak any English and had trouble finding work. He eventually found a job designing and installing custom cabinets–combining his knack for
inventing with woodworking. He said his most memorable assignment was building a one-of-a-kind “Batcave” for client, complete with a hidden bookcase entrance and a fireman’s pole to get into the secluded basement.
“That’s the one I really enjoyed because it was a challenge,” Heleno said. “They trusted me and I should show what I was able to do. This is a creation and that’s the thing I really love. I am really passionate about being creative.”
After his stint building cabinets, Heleno focused his attention on buying, fixing, and reselling cars. It was a full circle moment for him, mirroring his days of fixing that motorcycle with his dad.
Nowadays, his inventing has been put on hold while he focuses on his dental studies. However, Heleno said he is working on a to-do list of everything he wants to work on once he graduates, now inspired to make dental-related products.
Gillian Reeder DMD 27: Sewer
Reeder’s grandmother is a quilter and her mom is a knitter, so crafting is in Reeder’s DNA—she just needed to pinpoint her creative medium.
It was something practical that led her sewing. Reeder is tall—6 foot 2 inches—and has a hard time finding clothes, especially dresses and pants, that fit her. Then she realized that she could learn how to make her own clothes.
Just before Reeder’s freshman year of college spring break in 2020, she ordered a sewing machine. At the onset of the pandemic lockdown, Reeder used her spare time to dive into sewing, teaching herself how to sew through online tutorials. Once Reeder figured out how to follow patterns, she began to create her own.
“I fell in love with it,” Reeder said “It’s just so fun, so relaxing to me. I find myself staying up far too late sewing on a regular basis. I’m really happy that it found me, and I found it.”
Throughout college, Reeder continued making clothing, including sewing the dress she wore to her college graduation. “It was just beautiful and I really, really enjoyed wearing it,” said Reeder, who “pattern-hacked”—altering a pre-made pattern—to make the dress. “I was very proud of myself for being able to maintain my hobbies while being in school.”
During breaks in her dental studies, Reeder said she is learning how to make digital patterns in Adobe Illustrator with the goal of selling her original patterns. She encourages anyone who wants to learn how to sew to pick up the needle and try.
“I think if you’re really passionate about something, just taking the time to learn how to do it is, is so fulfilling,” Reeder said. “When I started, I thought everything I made was awesome and I look back on it now, I’m like, I’ve improved so much. It just goes to show anyone can do it.”
