ECU ASDA First Impression 8th Edition Fall 2021

passing the baton

Hello ECU ASDA Family!

My name is Joel Anil, and I will be serving as ECU ASDA’s First
Delegate for 2022! From the Week of Welcome, to the wellness
events, to the conferences, and to the amazing events like the
Burnisher’s Ball, ECU ASDA has been such an influential part
of my dental school experience. It all started my D1 year when
I had the opportunity to go to Chicago for the 2019 National
Leadership Conference (now rebranded as the Summit). It was
an amazing experience to be around so many like-minded
individuals who were all going to be the next generation of
dentists. The conference really showed me what the field of
dentistry has to offer and how specifically ASDA can help me
become a great dentist. Upon this realization I dove deep into
ECU ASDA leadership by being a part of the executive board for
the past two years as Treasurer, and then 2nd Delegate. My time
on the executive board has helped me grow as a leader, and it
has been a joy serving my ECU SoDM community through this
role. I’m also thankful for the leaders that have come before me to
serve ECU ASDA: Jordan Brunson ’20, Amir Taha ’21, and Victoria
Hardy ’22. I have learned so much from all three of them and I
can’t wait to implement all of that knowledge during my tenure
as 1st Delegate. I can’t wait to work with my new leadership and
executive board this upcoming year and I hope I can make ASDA
as influential for you all as it has been for me!

Best,

Joel Anil, Class of 2022

Greetings, SoDM!

As incoming Editors, we are very excited to be
taking the lead on this national award-winning
publication. We feel pretty confident about
continuing this tradition as well as taking the
Newsletter in new unexplored directions- One that
will showcase student life, spotlight the amazing
events at ECU, and share all the stories that make
the dental school great. We really enjoyed our time
as committee members and look forward to taking
on this leadership position. First Impressions has
given us the opportunity to expand our knowledge of
dentistry past the classroom and build connections
throughout the school. Cody has left us big shoes
to fill as the current Editor-in-Chief, but we hope
our future publications will continue to bring joy and
creativity just as the previous ones did.

Sincerely,

Abby Callahan and Yifei Wu, Class of 2024

Fall 2021 FIRST IMPRESSION 51

New Leadership

Congratulations to the new 2022 ASDA Leadership!

1st Delegate: Joel Anil
2nd Delegate: Josh Walker
Treasurer: Bradley Schmidt

Secretary: Dalia Nashed
ADPAC Coordinator: Omar Taha
Pre-dental Committee Chair: Alec Whyte
Professional Development Committee: Jarod Ruffing
Social Media Coordinator: Hannah Moore
Wellness Committee Chair: Cameron Smith
Newsletter Committee Co-Chairs: Yifei Wu and Abby Callahan
Fundraising Coordinator/ Marketing Chair: Alex Betancourt

D4 Rep: Victoria Hardy
D3 Rep: Rebecca Agner
D2 Rep: Kayla Kinard
D1 Rep: Allison Tempel

52 ECU ASDA Eighth Edition

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year

Photograph Courtesy of
David Barrett

The ECU ASDA Newsletter Committee celebrated their
achievements this year with an end of the year dinner at DAP

House. Various members received awards for excellence in
writing, editting, and drawing.

World Traveler Award, for best writing in showcasing leisure spots around Greenville: Abby
Callahan

Master Chef Award, for amazing writing skills in recipes and art in culinary: Yifei Wu
Best Editing and Writing, for editing articles and writing research based articles: Brittanie

Height
Best Interviewer Award, for interviewing some high profile people: Will Grine
Unsung Hero Award, for being able to complete various tasks and ensuring the success of the

Newsletter: Scarlett Walston
Great Participation Award, for his feedback and helping with the Newsletter: Joel Anil
Triple Crown Award, for amazing leadership, writing, and artistic skills: Victoria Hardy

Fall 2021 FIRST IMPRESSION 53

Thank You

American Dental Student Association

FIRST

IMPRESSION
Fall 2021, Eigth Edition

First Impression is the premiere Newsletter of the ECU Chapter of the American Dental Student Association and reports
on current dental trends, daily student life, and all the amazing happenings around the School of Dental Medicine.

@ecuasda @ecuasda ecuasda.org

Contributors Dean Gregory Chadwick Sara Feggeler
Dr. Margaret Wilson Corey Winkler
Dr. Amna Hasan Joshua Walker
Dr. Daniel Harris Jarod Ruffing
Dr. William Lee Allison Tempel
Dr. Steven Slott Dalia Nashed
Ms. Carolyn Kleffman Rachel Linares
Victoria Hardy
Abigail Callahan Ken Holbdy
Will Grine Kayla Morris
Brittanie Height Dino Salvanera
Scarlett Walston Clint Cherry
Yifei Wu Alex Betancourt
Joel Anil Kayla Kinard
Bradley Schmidt

A sincere Thank You to everyone that contributed Do the write thing and contribute to our next issue of
to help make this Newsletter the best one yet! the Newsletter.

Graphic by Cody Phen ‘23 Please email or reach out to:

54 ECU ASDA Abby Callahan ([email protected])
or Yifei Wu ([email protected])
Eighth Edition

Being the Editor-in-Chief for the Newsletter and leading our amazingly talented team has been a challenging, and
an extremely rewarding experience. I've met so many new poeple and learned so much about what the students,
faculty, staff, and residents bring to ECU SoDM and make it so special. Sharing their stories, pictures, and passion
for making a positive change in our community is inspiring and motivating. I want to thank everyone for making our
Newsletter the best in the nation, together, we made a great First Impression! :)
As you can see, the number of contributors from the previous page reflects the people of our school and the
diversity that makes us stronger. Every person is special and unique in their own way. The areas in where we lack
are made up and supported by our friends, family, and colleagues. There is no Pirate Nation without the people.
I have the utmost confidence that Abby Callahan and Yifei Wu leading the team as our new Co-Editors will do
an absolutely amazing job on the Newsletter. They've brought so much energy, creativity, and new ideas to the
Newsletter that ECU's tradtition of publications will be in great hands. They've also made history as ECU's first
ever Co-Editors!
I want to thank everyone who directly and indirectly contributed and helped with creating this amazing publication.
You’re awesome! My hope is that we can use this to spread positivity, foster an environment of kindness and
collaboration, and inspire others to make a positive impact in our community. We're only getting started.
I hope you enjoyed reading this Newsletter as much as the First Impression Team enjoyed making it!
Til the next one! Aaargh!!!
Cody C. Phen
Class of 2023
ECU ASDA First Impression
Editor-in-Chief

Fall 2021 FIRST IMPRESSION 55