Homegrown: The Fifth District Dental Society of the Alabama Dental Association awarded University of Alabama dental students, who are from the district, with a yearly $200 scholarship. From left (seated), dental students Claire DeShazer, Jordan Adcock, Mattie Bennett and Emily Simpson. From left (standing), UAB School of Dentistry Dean Michael Reddy; dental students Mary Lynn Shadix, Dillon Patel, Alex Compton, Dakota Clark, Austyn Grissom, Matt Slaughter, Michael Price; Anne Mitchell and Dr. Lew Mitchell, who the scholarship program is named after.
According to an ADA News report, the Fifth District Dental Society of the Alabama Dental Association established a new scholarship program that awards dental students who call the Fifth District their hometown.
The goal: to make a meaningful connection with University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry students, said Dr. Dugald R. McMillan III, Fifth District president. By doing so, he added, the students — after they graduate and begin practicing — are more likely to become members of the district.
“Our goal is to put a face on these students and have them feel comfortable with us,” Dr. McMillan said. “We want them to know how important organized dentistry is to their future, and how they need to be involved.”
This past spring, the dental society awarded $200 scholarships each to 10 dental students who are from the district, including five first-year students. The Lew and Anne Mitchell Fifth District Scholarship — named after Dr. Lew Mitchell, a delegate to the ADA, and his wife Anne — will be awarded yearly to the students until they graduate. Although the amount is small compared to the overall cost of dental school, to the students, the gesture was priceless.
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