When the group realized it had a surplus of $3,400 from all the different fundraising activities, the graduating students decided to donate the money to the School of Dental Hygiene’s patient support funds.

“I think the reason we felt so compelled to donate was because of our excellent experience in the program. I think our instructors and supervisors really instilled in us the importance of giving back and being able to advocate for our patients,” said Lexy Müller Morán, president of the Dental Hygiene Class of 2025.

Dental Hygiene Class of 2025

The donation will go towards two patient support fund initiatives, which help those who don’t have access to public or private dental insurance and aren’t able to pay out of pocket.

Smiles for Miles helps newcomers and refugees. And DH4U enables dental hygiene students to advocate for their patients and make the case to help cover the cost of their care.

Müller Morán recalled a time when one of her classmates had a patient who feared seeing the dentist, and because of it, their oral hygiene suffered.  

“My classmate’s patient was so dedicated to wanting to improve their oral hygiene she felt the need to advocate for this patient. Ultimately, the patient was able to come to the clinic and afford the treatment because of the DH4U fund,” Müller Morán said.

Mary Bertone, director of the School of Dental Hygiene at the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry, is proud of the Class of 2025.

“It means a lot that this class made a donation. It shows a sense of social responsibility and a commitment to paying it forward, so future students can advocate for patients who need care,” Bertone said.

Müller Morán said that her class thought it would be great to give back, even though they only graduated in May.

“We felt it would be good to start early,” Müller Morán said. “We thought, if we can make an impact now, then why don’t we do that. I think it’s just going to encourage all of us to give back in the future.”

If you would like to donate to the School of Dental Hygiene patient funds, please get in touch with Brooke Karlaftis, UM donor relations officer, at Brooke.Karlaftis@umanitoba.ca.

Joel Gardner

Governor General’s Gold Medal (Ph.D)     
(for outstanding performance at the graduate level)

Doctor of Philosophy: Agricultural Food Sciences 

While studying native bees in Itasca State Park for his master’s degree, Joel Gardner saw an opportunity to improve research on these important insects. Gardner crossed the Canada-U.S. boarder to study under Dr. Jason Gibbs in a niche field – bee taxonomy.

“Because pollinators are so important, a lot of research gets done on bees, but the researchers involved in that work are typically more ecologically-focused,” says Gardner.  “They don’t know how to tell a Lasioglossum deludens from a L. microlepoides, yet telling the difference is critical or else their results will be wrong.  What they usually do then is ship their bees to taxonomists and hope they have time to identify them …  I hope I can keep describing and naming those species and writing keys to aid identification, so we can get rid of this “taxonomic bottleneck” hindering bee and pollinator research!”

While at UM Gardner worked in molecular labs for the first time, picking up new skills and learning cutting-edge techniques in just two years.

Gardner also collaborated with a researcher from Germany which lead to the discovery of seven new species of bees from the Yucatán peninsula. Gardner’s efforts were also cited in several ecology-focused papers, including one highly-cited on the importance of rare bees to pollination.

Outside of UM, Gardner led bumble bee surveys at FortWhyte Alive, helping the public catch wild bees, and identify the species. The results of these surveys were the first detection of Bombus impatiens in Manitoba, and the finding of low but stable numbers of the threatened Bombus occidentalis in the park.

Reflecting on university years, Gardner offers some important advice: “It’s easy to get burned out if you’re only working for what you think will get you a good career in the future.  The key is to take enjoyment and pride from the work itself.”

Lily Pankratz

Governor General’s Gold Medal (Master’s)            
(for outstanding performance at the graduate level)

Master of Arts: Arts 

After receiving her undergraduate degree at UM, Lily Pankratz was inspired to pursue graduate studies as a way to continue research in the community. Clinical psychology, she says, “felt like the perfect fit to bridge research and clinical work to improve mental health services.”

During her time, she was involved in several research projects including one that examined the impacts of COVID-19 in the ICU. The research team interviewed healthcare providers, families, and patients during early phases of the pandemic, shining a light on the difficult experiences so many Canadians faced revealing important implications for hospital policies.

Beyond her studies, Pankratz volunteered for Justice for Women, a university led anti-sexual violence community organization. She was also the clinical psychology student representative, and the graduate student representative for department council, executive council in psychology.

She plans to continue graduate studies with a PhD focusing on an intervention for individuals experiencing chronic pain, with a long-term goal of developing, piloting, and eventually providing this service to Manitobans.

Her advice for those entering post-secondary: “Join the club, email the professor, attend the workshop. It can be so daunting to come to university, especially if you do not know anyone, but when you start building connections, you will slowly meet new people, receive mentorship and support to help you along your academic journey.”

Jasmin Lee Tang

Governor General’s Silver Medal
(for the undergraduate student who achieves the highest academic standing in a Bachelor degree program)

Bachelor of Science – Major

Jasmin Lee Tang has had a lifelong fascination with the origins and maintenance of all forms of life. Some of her fondest memories as a kid are of trips to the zoo and botanical gardens; her favourite childhood book was a Canadian Medical Association guide on children’s illnesses. So, it seemed only natural for her to pursue a degree in biological sciences.

Tang continues to be drawn to both the human and earthly sciences, explaining: “My ambition is to contribute to improving humanity’s ability to look after itself and/or our fellow species. Whether this means becoming directly involved in Canada’s healthcare system or conducting studies to inform policies on the world’s current climate crisis, I remain optimistic and determined to help bring about positive change.”

While at UM, she received an Undergraduate Student Research Award to work in Dr. Jeffrey Marcus’ lab using molecular genetics and genomics techniques for studying the evolution of butterfly colour patterns. She was also employed as a public health program assistant with the Manitoba government.

Tang encourages current undergraduate students to enjoy the present moment. “It’s much more rewarding to take things at your own pace and embrace the journey of self-discovery. Undergraduate students are often granted an exceptional amount of freedom to explore potential career paths before fully entering the workforce! Completing your degree requirements doesn’t need to feel like a sprint to the finish line.”

Logan Hiebert

Governor General’s Silver Medal 
(for the undergraduate student who achieves the highest academic standing in a Bachelor degree program)

Bachelor of Arts 

An aspiring law school student, Logan Hiebert chose to make her undergraduate degree one that would not only benefit her end goal, but one she would thoroughly enjoy.

“My love and passion for English literature and the study and analysis of it is unparalleled, so the choice was clear,” she explains, adding that her time in UM’s English department was “life-changing”. She credits the professors there, particularly Dr. David Watt and Dr. Michelle Faubert, for her growth as both writer and student, learning how to love learning and express herself in her own voice.

Alongside her studies, she volunteered coaching soccer at her former high school and participated in a variety of intramural sports and rec league volleyball and soccer.

She offers these words of wisdom to current undergraduate students: “Approach school with an open mind that is open to criticism and accepting of less than perfect grades, but maintain a commitment to using every resource available that will help you achieve your goals. Enjoy yourself! Having fun will not impede your ability to succeed!”

Callum Fortin

Governor General’s Bronze Medal
(for the undergraduate student who achieves the highest academic standing in the Diploma in Agriculture program)

Diploma in Agriculture

Hailing from a family farm in Souris, Manitoba, Callum Fortin always knew he wanted to pursue agriculture. The skills he acquired at UM will help him and his brothers continue the family business for generations to come.

Initially nervous to leave the farm during the busy season, he quickly realized he was surrounded by likeminded students and experts who would provide excellent support throughout the journey.

Through the diploma in agriculture program, Fortin made many connections in Manitoba’s farming community and is motivated to become more involved upon graduation including joining commodity boards, doing research on farm trials and educating through programs such as Ag in the Classroom.

Stacey Urban

Governor General’s Bronze Medal
(for highest standing in a diploma program of at least two years other than diploma Agriculture)

Diploma Dental Hygiene

A self-described lifelong learner with a curious attitude, Stacey Urban chose a career in dental hygiene as a way to create a positive impact and help people – something she experienced first-hand as a student.

One of her most meaningful assignments saw her and a classmate travel to Churchill, Manitoba for their community health course. There, they provided oral health information to community members, presented in the classrooms, and performed dental screenings for children in the local school. The experience instilled in her a passion for community-based dental hygiene care.

In the future, she aims to use her collaboration skills to advocate for people with limited access to oral health care, prioritizing person-centered care and practicing cultural humility.

When she arrived in Winnipeg at age 17 to attend dental hygiene school at UM, she quickly realized that city life was not for her.

“I’ll be honest: I got lost in The Bay,” Scott recalls with a laugh.

When she graduated in 1982, she headed to a library, dug up a phone book for Whitehorse, Yukon – a far-off place that had fascinated her since Grade 5 – and wrote letters to the two dental practices there.

They both hired her: one for three days per week, the other for two. When she stepped off the plane, she became one of just two dental hygienists in the entire territory. 

Thirty-nine years later, Scott is still a full-time hygienist in Whitehorse, the community that captured her heart. “I can’t imagine living or working anywhere else,” she says.

There are still fewer than 25 practising hygienists in Yukon, but Scott has dedicated herself to advancing the profession. She has represented the North on the board of the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association and served as the organization’s national president in 2015-16.

Donna Scott served as president of the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association

She is committed to lobbying the Yukon government to overhaul the 1970s-era legislation that governs hygienists’ work. If it were brought into line with regulations in most provinces – expanding hygienists’ scope of practice and their continuing professional development – then, she says, hygienists could make a greater contribution to improving access to oral care.

Scott, who spoke at the 2020 virtual Opening Assembly for first-year UM dental hygiene and dentistry students, is a passionate advocate for oral care access. One experience that shaped her convictions was being part of a small dental team with portable equipment that used to fly in the 1990s into Old Crow, a remote First Nation community north of the Arctic Circle.

The Vuntut Gwitchin people of Old Crow relied on hunting and trapping. Providing care to them was a joy Scott will never forget.

“They really appreciated that health care was being delivered to them,” she says. “My treatment room was the home ec room at the school. The janitors used to tease me and get me to look in the freezers, because there was always some fur animal in there, ready for them to do an educational workshop on skinning and tanning.”  

Scott learned, however, not to ask First Nations people about a particular building in Carcross, near Whitehorse. “It was the residential school, and people could not talk about it.”   

Scott says one of the key lessons she has learned in her career is “Don’t judge.” To begin with, she says, all dentists and hygienists should be aware that their work intrudes on personal space and can make some patients feel vulnerable or triggered.

“When you have somebody disclose residential school abuse or sexual abuse in your chair, that is life-changing,” she says. “You start to understand why someone can’t just allow you to put your fingers in their mouth. You can imagine what kind of flood of emotion that brings back to some people.”

Scott has also had patients open up about other traumatic experiences, such as methamphetamine addiction. She has learned that if people are no-shows for dental appointments, there can be many reasons.

“When someone doesn’t show up, it costs the business money – I’m totally aware of that. But they shouldn’t be judged for it. Maybe they can’t face coming in. Give them some patience and some time. I have sometimes just invited someone who is nervous to come in for coffee.”

Scott’s belief that non-judgmental care can be transformative goes back to her student days at UM. “I had a patient – a young man who was kind of down and out,” she remembers. “He needed a lot of dental work and hygiene sessions. We gave him a smile, and it turned his life around. He got a job at a restaurant. That was very cool to see.”

Scott envisions today’s dental hygiene students working in many settings beyond traditional dental offices. “I can see dental hygienists being utilized in all areas of the medical profession – cardiac care, for instance. There’s an increasing awareness of the link between oral health and overall health.”

For the time being, hygienists are rising to the challenges posed by COVID-19. “I’m quite excited to explain to clients the safety measures at our office,” Scott says. “It’s an opportunity for us to educate the public about our profession and to be recognized as primary health-care providers.”

Guests mingle at the Community Partner Recognition Breakfast.

The breakfast, held on February 26, 2020, acknowledged the multiple roles that community plays in the education of students in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. 

The Rady Faculty collaborates with 119 community organizations to develop, deliver and enrich educational programming. These collaborations come in many forms such as guest lectures, service learning, non-clinical placements and panel discussion participation.

The event recognized the time, effort, expertise and resources that organizations put in to work with students, which involves coordinating schedules, meeting varying learning objectives for different colleges and participating in student progress monitoring/assessment.

“In a large number of ways, you add value to the education of our students here at Rady Faculty,” said Karen Cook, co-lead, Office of Community Engagement.

Leslie Spillett, Knowledge Keeper at Ongomiizwin – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing, speaks at the Community Partner Recognition Breakfast.

As part of the Rady Faculty Office of Interprofessional Collaboration’s orientation in September 2019, nearly 600 students from all colleges in the faculty visited 29 community organizations around Bannatyne campus to learn about the community, agency partners and volunteer/service learning opportunities.

Dr. Brian Postl, dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, said that community partners have more impact on students than they realize.

“Students need a broader educational experience around our community, around the diversity in the community and around where they fit not only in recognizing disease patterns but also in recognizing health patterns that will influence how they practice as health professionals,” he said.

Dental hygiene students Shayla Welechenko and Shayna Coughlan-Castell spoke about the work they do with various organizations, including the Smiles for Miles program, the Variety Children’s Dental Outreach Program, the Centre for Community Oral Health, and the Winnipeg Interdisciplinary Student-Run Health Clinic.

“We are very fortunate to be a part of such a great professional program that offers learning initiatives in the community that not only benefit and give back to the community but also help shape us as future clinicians. We are able to learn valuable skills and develop empathy to apply that to our future practice,” said Coughlan-Castell.

Welechenko said working with populations such as newcomers to Canada helped them learn firsthand about the many challenges newcomers face.

“These externships and rotations all work together in lifting the notes and illustrations off the pages of our textbooks and into real world experiences that help us learn and grow,” said Welechenko.

Dr. Joe Kaufert uses ropes to illustrate levels of equality in society, saying community agencies will help to pull the ropes apart.

Dr. Joe Kaufert, Professor Emeritus, department of community health sciences, and volunteer with Winnipeg Harvest, said that working with community partners helps students to learn about what life is like for people who live on the margins.

“One of the things you can learn in a setting like Winnipeg Harvest is how does a person who lives on the edge economically make a go of it from a day to day basis,” he said.

Leslie Spillett, Knowledge Keeper at Ongomiizwin – Institute of Health and Healing, said her experience working in the community taught her about the importance of relationship building, reciprocity and accountability in community engagement.

“When we see each other fully as human beings then we can start a relationship that is based on equity, and honesty and integrity.”

“The mouth is an important link to the rest of the body,” said Cheryl Dika, an instructor in the NP program and one of the project’s leads. “The oral-systemic health approach incorporates NP students and dental hygiene students into the dental clinic to pull together the complete health of the patient.”

Chronic inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, arthritis and cardiovascular disease can all be affected by inflammation in the mouth, and an inter-professional approach can help identify these problems sooner, Dika said.

She noted the project is the first of its kind in Manitoba, and possibly in Canada.

The project dates back about two years and was initiated by Dr. Tony Iacopino, former dean of the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry. Iacopino, who retired in 2019, researched oral-systemic health for over 20 years and in 2008 launched the International Centre for Oral-Systemic Health (ICOSH) at the U of M, the first centre in the world to explore the gap between dentistry and other health professions.

Dr. Julie Pfeffer, assistant professor in dentistry, said that dentists and dental hygienists could learn a thing or two about assessing a patient’s overall health from NPs, and NPs could similarly benefit from the knowledge dental providers have about assessing intra-oral health. 

“Our hope, from the dental side, is that when these students leave our nest and are in their own clinics, they are able to identify the medical concerns they need to communicate to a medical provider and collaborate for care,” she said.

Kathy Yerex, assistant professor in the School of Dental Hygiene, added that working together inter-professionally can improve outcomes for the patients.

“As students graduate, we want to establish that they’re not working in these individual silos, that there’s a community of health providers that can actually work together for the patient,” Yerex said.

The students – 12 from the NP program, 34 from dentistry and 26 from dental hygiene – initially met in August 2019 for theory and simulation exercises, and applied what they learned with real patients at the dental clinic on Jan. 31.

The 12 groups each did assessments on two patients, who had to have not seen a primary care provider in over a year. The patients will return to the clinic for their dental needs as necessary and the NP students will follow up with phone calls to see how the patients are doing with their overall health. Dika noted that some of the patients did not have a primary care provider, so the project team will also try to connect them with one.

NP student Caitlin Bloxom (centre) said she was excited to work her oral health colleagues.

Students said they learned a lot from seeing how those from a different discipline approach their patients.

“It’s exciting to see how my dentistry and dental hygiene student colleagues approach an oral health exam,” said second-year NP student Caitlin Bloxom. “I want to be able to bring those approaches into my practice so I can do a more enhanced oral health assessment for my patients, and maybe identify concerns so I can refer them to a dentist sooner.”

Fourth-year dental student Maninder Gundhu said he also found great value in seeing the NP approach.

“On the primary care side of things, we got to see how they interact with patients. It was very interactive and almost therapeutic, which is different from us because we’re just focused on the teeth,” he said. “That’s something I’m going to take away from this, to interact more with my patients and see their medical and systemic side of things before moving onto their dental work.”

The project is funded through ICOSH for three years. The team hopes to expand it into additional clinics next year and then have it to become a regular part of the curriculum.

“I’ve always believed in service and giving back,” says the high-energy director of the School of Dental Hygiene at the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry.

Bertone, who has led the school since 2014, was recently appointed to an additional leadership role. She is the first dental hygienist to serve as director of the dental college’s Centre for Community Oral Health (CCOH). She has had front-line involvement with the non-profit centre since she graduated as a hygienist 13 years ago and started working for the CCOH in health promotion.

You might think that with all her responsibilities, Bertone would step back from caring for patients. But she feels it’s essential to stay involved. “It keeps me real,” she says.

She is particularly committed to hands-on care at the CCOH clinic in the far-northern community of Churchill, Man. She has been flying to the “polar bear capital of the world” since 2005.

“I used to go once or twice a year,” she says. “Now I try to go three or four times a year. I am the hygienist for Churchill, and then I bring other hygienists up there with me.” The CCOH, formally established in 2000, operates six community clinics, including the one in Churchill. Each provides both clinical and health-promotion services. “We go where no one else goes, to increase access to care,” Bertone says.

The Access Downtown Dental Clinic on Winnipeg’s Main Street provides care to inner-city residents and sees many patients who are newcomers to Canada. The clinic at Deer Lodge Centre, a long-term care and rehabilitation facility in western Winnipeg, serves residents of the facility and people from the community. The CCOH clinics at the Manitoba Developmental Centre in Portage la Prairie, Man., the Selkirk Mental Health Centre in Selkirk, Man., and St. Amant Centre in Winnipeg provide oral care to people with special needs. Senior dentistry and dental hygiene students rotate through the Access Downtown and Deer Lodge clinics. Some also travel to Churchill.

“It’s important for our students to gain experience with providing care to a wide range of individuals,” Bertone says. “It opens their eyes to another world that is very different from a private practice situation. “We hope with that exposure, and seeing what the need is, that when they’re in private practice, maybe they’ll think, ‘I could give one day a month to working in community clinics.’”

Another service provided by the CCOH is the mobile Home Dental Care Program, which also provides experience to students. Three vans transport dental equipment and oral-care teams to long-term care facilities to treat patients who are unable to visit traditional clinics. In the future, Bertone says, ultra-lightweight, easy-to-clean portable dental equipment may make it possible to increase care in private homes.

As for other outreach initiatives, Bertone has started discussions with several First Nations in Manitoba, hoping to establish partnerships. It’s important that the communities themselves define what their needs are, she says.

Bertone would also like to see the CCOH improve access to affordable care for seniors. Access Downtown, she notes, charges 25 per cent less than the Manitoba fee guide rate. “We’d like to offer that same discount one day a week at Deer Lodge, and from there we could expand it. But we need to find more dentists to work in our program. “A lot of older adults travel from the western part of the city all the way to Access Downtown to get the 25 per cent discount. So we know there is a need.”

Dr. Marcel Van Woensel was praised by his award nominators for his “firm commitment to both personal and professional ethics.”

Van Woensel grew up and still lives in Swan Lake, Man. He has practised in the nearby town of Somerset since earning his dental degree in 1994. He pursued his law degree part-time while practising dentistry, receiving it in 2002.

Accepting the award from the U of M Dental Alumni Association (UMDAA), he described himself as a deeply rural person. “Community, to me, is probably the most important thing,” he told the gathering of about 180 dentists, dental hygienists, students, faculty, staff and friends at the Fort Garry Hotel.

With a profound sense of duty to the dental profession, Van Woensel has contributed insight and guidance to a vast number of provincial and national boards, committees, task forces, commissions, regulatory groups and advisory councils. He served for nine years (2008 to 2017) as registrar of the Manitoba Dental Association.

As a part-time instructor at the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, Van Woensel teaches dental jurisprudence, which deals with the relationship between dentistry, ethics and the legal system.

“I’m a true believer in people,” he said. “I find that when you give people the opportunity to stand up and do the right thing, they almost always will.”

The U of M School of Dental Hygiene Alumni Association presented its Alumni of Distinction Award to Dr. Gayle Halas, a member of the Class of 1987 who has built upon her foundation in dental hygiene to become an outstanding health-care researcher, educator and leader.

While practising as a hygienist and raising her family, Halas completed her master of arts through online education. In 2006, she became a research associate in the department of family medicine at the Max Rady College of Medicine.

Thriving in this role for 10 years, Halas grew increasingly passionate about primary health-care research. In 2016, she completed her PhD through the U of M’s individualized interdisciplinary program and was appointed assistant professor and research director in family medicine.

In her acceptance speech, Halas said she has always been interested in patients’ emotional and cognitive responses to what they’re told by health-care professionals. She focused her doctoral research on patients’ engagement with health information.

“Beyond procedures, beyond particular diagnoses and beyond the biomedical, we need to care for the whole patient,” she said.

Dr. Colin Dawes, a British-trained professor emeritus in the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry who has been a fixture of the dental school for 54 years, was awarded honorary membership in the UMDAA.

Dawes is an internationally recognized expert on the role of saliva in oral health. Several speakers reminisced about Dawes asking colleagues and students to expectorate samples into vials for his research. Dawes got in on the humour, describing himself as a member of the “Salivation Army.”

Dr. Greg Smith spoke on behalf of the Dentistry Class of 1968. Ten members of the class were in attendance, celebrating the 50-year anniversary of their graduation. Smith noted that the class entered dental school in 1964 – the same year that Dawes joined the faculty. “I saw you tonight, and all of a sudden my salivary glands starting working overtime,” Smith quipped.

Smith recalled that the all-male Class of 1968 was required to attend dental school in white shirts, ties, suit jackets and polished shoes. Despite such strict regulations, he said, “We truly appreciate the training we received.”

Instead, he’ll be safeguarding patients’ oral health as a U of M-trained dentist.

It’s a radically different arena, but one that the Edmonton-raised student stepped into with pride and determination on Sept. 6 at the Opening Assembly for the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry and the School of Dental Hygiene.

“It was an honour and a privilege. It was extremely rewarding,” Abdul-Khalek, 30, said about the ceremony in which each student in the 29-member Dentistry Class of 2022 was “cloaked” in a white coat, symbolizing entry into the profession.

Abdul-Khalek’s parents, immigrants from Lebanon, made sacrifices to pay for his elite hockey training from the age of seven, he said. He played on junior and AAA teams, with hopes of playing professionally.

“Unfortunately, I blew out a ligament in my right knee and had to have surgery,” he said. “Then in my rehab, I hurt my hip. I ended up having reconstructive hip surgery. I was deemed damaged goods.”

By the age of 22, he had to grieve the end of his pro-sports dream, refocus on academics and start to envision an alternate future. His own dentist greatly encouraged him, he said. The outgoing student arrived at dental school with two bachelor’s degrees in science, one earned in Alberta and the other at the U of M.

Abdul-Khalek, who is also a hockey coach, said he’s certain that many skills he has learned from the game – such as how to manage the different personalities on a team – are transferable to dentistry.     

His biggest life lesson from having to relinquish his goalie ambitions? “It teaches you to appreciate everything you’ve got. Anything can change at any time, so make sure you always put your best foot forward.”

Abdul-Khalek wasn’t the only one making reference to hockey at the Opening Assembly. Mayor Brian Bowman, who brought greetings from the City of Winnipeg, was struck by the sea of white coats.     

“There’s a Winnipeg Whiteout street party joke in here somewhere,” Bowman told the crowd.

GURBRINDER SANDHU, DENTAL HYGIENE STUDENT.

Student Gurbrinder Sandhu, 21, didn’t realize until he met his dental hygiene classmates for the first time that he’s the only man in the 26-member Class of 2020. But the lack of gender balance doesn’t faze him.

“More guys should go into dental hygiene,” he said. “It’s always nice having diversity.”

Sandhu immigrated to Canada from India at age 13. The Grant Park High School grad said he applied to the program because he was so inspired by his own hygienist here in Winnipeg.

“Just seeing how hygienists work, what they do and how they interact, I wanted to be a hygienist,” he said.

Sandhu is proud to have been selected for the competitive program. “It feels amazing,” he said about receiving his white coat and reciting the Community Code, an oath to practise ethically.

Mary Bertone, director of the School of Dental Hygiene, told the audience that Manitoba has more male dental hygienists than any other province, so Sandhu will be in good company.

Dr. Cindy Blackstock

A teddy bear dressed in green health-care scrubs accompanied Dr. Cindy Blackstock as she received an honorary doctorate at U of M Convocation on May 24.

Blackstock, a member of the Gitksan First Nation, has made teddy bears the symbol of her mission: to reform Canada’s child welfare system and defend the rights of Indigenous children.

In her Convocation address on the Bannatyne campus, the social worker, professor and activist began by telling more than 100 graduating students in dental hygiene, dentistry and pharmacy, “Love is here today.”

She went on to recount the Manitoba story of Jordan River Anderson, a boy from Norway House Cree Nation who was hospitalized from birth with a genetic disorder.

Jordan, who loved teddy bears, could have lived in a home setting. But the federal and provincial governments argued for more than two years over who should pay for his home-based care. He died in hospital in 2005 at the age of five, never having gotten to live in a family home.

Jordan’s Principle, named in his memory, aims to ensure that First Nations children get the government services they need without delay. Blackstock, who continues to fight for equitable services, urged the graduating students to be courageous in standing up for justice.

“When life calls you in a direction that you never expected, to stand in the winds of discrimination and injustice . . . you must rise to that occasion,” she said. “You will never feel ready. You will never feel smart enough. You will never feel brave enough. But you have been chosen.”

The afternoon ceremony marked the first time Convocation for the College of Dentistry and College of Pharmacy has been held on the Bannatyne campus, where the colleges are located, rather than on the Fort Garry campus. “It was a request made by the students,” said Dr. Brian Postl, dean of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

Graduate Samahra Singer

Earlier the same day, Manitoba’s newest doctors walked across the same platform, graduating from the Max Rady College of Medicine. Of the 107 new MDs, 76 per cent are staying in Manitoba for their residency training. The class included eight students of self-declared Indigenous ancestry.

Samahra Singer, 29, is of Dene and Cree heritage and received her degree wearing the U of M’s purple graduation scarf denoting Indigenous identity. “I hope that by seeing me, other Indigenous students will think that they, too, can become physicians,” she said. “I feel like I’ve accomplished something for my people.”

Graduates Ananda Kuatsidzo (L) and Janine Grenier (r)

Ananda Kuatsidzo, 28, was born in Ghana and came to Canada as an undergraduate student 10 years ago. She now hopes to help immigrants through her medical practice. Kuatsidzo gave birth to a baby boy during the final term of medical school. “I’m just really blessed and really grateful,” she said.

Janine Grenier, 26, was one of this year’s six graduates from the college’s bilingual stream. She grew up on a farm outside the francophone village of St. Leon, Man. “I’m really proud to be able to serve people in French, and to be from a rural background,” she said. “My goal is to have a rural bilingual family practice.”

Dr. Martin Yaffe

At the ceremony for the medical graduates, the U of M conferred an honorary doctorate on Dr. Martin Yaffe, an internationally recognized scientist in the field of breast cancer. His citation was read by his brother, Dr. Cliff Yaffe, a surgeon and associate dean of postgraduate medical education at the U of M. 

Martin Yaffe, who grew up in Winnipeg, completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in science at the U of M in the 1970s. He earned his PhD in medical biophysics at the University of Toronto, where he is now a professor. Yaffe was a pioneer of digital mammography, which revolutionized how breast cancer is detected.

In his Convocation address, Yaffe called on the graduating physicians to stay engaged with evidence-based medical science and beware of “false science.”

“If you are a physician who thinks scientifically and understands the science underlying your art and your practice, you will be a better doctor; a more empowered doctor,” he said.

But for newcomers to Canada, the basics of dental care are not always learned skills and that’s something students in the School of Dental Hygiene have voted to remedy.

They are one of eight faculties, colleges, and schools who held a student vote in 2017, a process which sees students vote on the how much of their tuition fees should be donated to their faculty, and for what purpose.

Dental Hygiene voted overwhelmingly in support of Smiles for Miles, largely because of the personal experiences they’ve had through the program, which sponsors dental care for newcomers.

“I remember a client telling me they bought floss but didn’t know how to use it correctly,” recalls Nicole Saive, Senior Stick. “They were eager to learn as they could see the damaging effects poor oral hygiene has on teeth, but they didn’t have any baseline knowledge on oral health. It was up to me to explain everything to them.”

Students taking the lead on giving is unique to the U of M: no other student giving program in North America is both student-led and student-run. It’s a formula that many student groups have turned into an opportunity to help others.

Students from the faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management voted this year to fund the renovation of their study carrels so that they can be fully accessible for people with disabilities. Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences students developed a student bursary fund to provide financial aid to five students every year.

For Saive, she sees helping those in need as just another part of her role as a future health-care professional.

“As students, we feel very privileged to have the equipment and amenities that we are provided at the school. All of our essential needs are fulfilled whereas other individuals are struggling to meet these everyday needs. Oral health is a very important aspect to overall health, we wanted to utilize our clinical skills to provide periodontal therapy to those who cannot receive this care on their own.”

On April 3, student leaders from the 14 referenda groups currently supporting the U of M were recognized at a private reception hosted by President David Barnard at his residence. Honoured this year, were:

• Agricultural and Food Sciences (grad): Endowment
• Art: Endowment, Student Initiative, and Visiting Artist
• Asper: Management Student Services
• Asper (grads): Management Student Services
• Dental Hygiene: Smiles for Miles
• Dentistry: Student Initiative
• Economics (grads): Graduate Students Endowment
• Interior Design: Endowment, and Student Initiative
• Kinesiology and Recreation Management: Endowment, and Student Initiative
• Law: Endowment, and Student Services
• Music: Endowment, and Student Initiative
• Nursing: Endowment, Student Initiative, Student Lounge and NSA Office Improvements, and Humanitarian
• Nursing (grad): Endowment
• St. Paul’s College: Student Initiative