Amika Bober

It's becoming progressively more difficult to define what "rural" means. People have their own perception of what the geographical boundaries are or how a place should look if it's to be deemed "rural". However I believe the issue at hand is the unequal distribution of health care and supporting bodies.

 

I believe that a rural officer should focus on giving voice to people who can't be heard, as well open people's eyes to what is happening. Coming from the Northern Territory and moving to NSW, it's amazing to see how much more available health care and specialties are to densely populated areas. I have also seen the disparity in this distribution within NSW. If elected, I hope to engage students to visit, volunteer or select these "rural" areas for placement. I hope to open eyes and push people to listen.

 

Amy Cao
I am applying for the role of president because I have the necessary passion, experience and awareness of student needs to make the ADSA a platform for you to voice your concerns and become more involved in the world of dentistry beyond dental school.

 

Within the ADSA, I am currently publications officer and responsible for creating the First Year Booklet, Graduation Booklet and quarterly newsletter Articulate. Additionally, as a member of the Gold Coast Convention Committee, I am also overseeing the academic program, social events, promotional materials and registration process. I have also attended all previous conventions since starting dentistry in 2012 and participated in both the #dentalcrisis Twitter Night and the Blood Drive. Thus I have extensive knowledge of what a student already expects of the ADSA, and how the ADSA committee members and dental schools should work together to extend the ADSA’s network and open up exciting and innovative opportunities for you.

 

My expertise in student welfare, and enthusiasm for student engagement, comes from being a Griffith University Student Services Partner, a First Year Support Mentor for my dental school and a Senior Mentor for Griffith Mates. Griffith Mates is Griffith University’s principal student-run organisation which hosts programs and events for our diverse student population. These roles have all involved carefully listening to the concerns of students, understanding their problems and providing them with the guidance and services to support them through university.

 

I look forward to meeting everyone at convention. So if you are curious about what I am like in person, I hope I can chat to you then!  

 

Nicole Contemplacion

The ADSA not only represents dental students in Australia, but also stands as a national student support network that seeks to inform and guide us dental students through our rigorous studies. Having already completed a degree prior to undertaking dentistry, I understand the importance of student support, information and representation. 

 

I believe the role of media officer is a key component to the overall functioning and growth of ADSA. The media officer communicates with student members to achieve student support and information objectives, and they liaise with media outlets to promote and represent the dental student community to the nation.

 

In my local community at Charles Sturt University, I am an active member of various clubs and have even been fortunate enough to be involved in the development of some. Previous and current roles have included Vice President of Spectrum, Media Officer of the Central Western Rural Health Society, Secretary of the Women’s Soccer Association, Social Representative of Clinical Science Association and Co-founder of the Creative Arts Club. As an involved member of my local community, I believe I can bring a mixture of experience, dedication and enthusiasm to the table. I enjoy contributing to my local community, and would love the opportunity to be involved at a national level. 

 

On a side-note - I am a coffee lover, food enthusiast, and party specialist haha. Pumped to meet everyone in the coming week! 

 

 

Cathleen Dong

ADSA is an organisation that is growing at a rapid rate and I am hoping to help contribute to its continued growth in an executive role next year. Currently, I am the Sponsorship Officer as part of the General Committee and am involved in designing the prospectus, liaising with current sponsors, building new relationships with organisations and ensuring that ADSA remains a significant platform for our sponsors and partners to communicate with you, the students. It continues to be both a challenging and fun role that I have enjoyed and learnt a lot from.

 

I am passionate about being involved in student organisations and have previously been a year representative and am currently the treasurer for the CSU Student Dental Association. If elected I look forward to working along with the rest of the team to continually improve our organisation and strive to create more benefits for us as students, whether that be advocating on your behalf or finding ways of even being able to marginally improve your stressful dental student life – I would love to work with the team and help out!

 

ADSA is a great organisation and I hope to continue to be a part of it next year with your support! Look forward to meeting you all there. 

 

Nibir Hossain

Hi, my name is Nibir and I would like to nominate myself for the position of secretary. My interest in the position stems from both a keen interest on the role ADSA plays and my belief in idea of working as a collective to make sure that views of my fellow students are represented. I am a hard worker and ridiculously organised-maybe too organised =O. My extracurricular activities include:

 

• E- Rep yr1 (2014): This role involves me organising lecture material access, managing third party sharing e.g. drive, helping my grade with their computer problems (technically not a part of my role =/), and helping change the structure of the online resources.

• Year Rep Physiotherapy (2010-2013): This role involved liaising with academic staff, influencing the physiotherapy curriculum, and organising “big” events (due to the word limit I had to settle)

• Treasurer of the SUPS (Sydney Uni Physio Students) (2013-2014): As a founding member and treasurer my role included: helping set out the minutes, the bank account (-_-) and managing funds of the association.

 

I did some other stuff too =) and all jokes a side, I am keen on the role and I’m excited to meet you all at the convention. Cheers

 

Nupur Kanwar
I would like to nominate myself for the position of Sponsorship officer in 2015. I am currently on the ADSA 2014 Convention- sponsorship committee and this role has given me a great insight into what ADSA is about. I am also part of the Griffith University Dental Students Association since 2013 which has helped me understand what it takes to make a students committee successful.

 

I think being part of ADSA in 2015 will be an honour and a great learning opportunity through which I aim to make lifelong connections and collaborations with fellow dental colleagues all over Australia. I'd like to conclude by expressing how excited I am to attend my very first ADSA convention in July this year. 

 

Darian Karunaikumar

I would like to nominate for the position of Vice President. I am a current dental student at the University of Sydney and for the past year have been the Liaison Officer for the Sydney University Dental Association (SUDA). I have thoroughly enjoyed this role and working with both the ADSA Committee and SUDA to advertise the many programs ADSA ran this year.

 

I would love to expand my involvement with ADSA to a more national level in working with the new President to advocate for the interests of the student body to various stakeholders and generally assist the President in any way possible.

 

Mayukh Sengupta

I am currently in my first year of Dentistry at Charles Sturt University and would like to represent the interests of dental students around Australia. As the current First Year Representative for CSU dentistry students, I have a strong work ethic and I am also involved with several other university bodies such as Residence Life and the Student Representative Council.

 

My hometown is Port Macquarie and I have a keen interest in rural dentistry. When procrastinating from university studies, I like to participate in TV game shows and also sing professionally! I can’t wait to meet fellow students at my first ADSA convention, and joining the committee would allow me to further develop ADSA’s community involvement and campaigns while promoting current initiatives in place for students.

 

David Stuhmcke

I am in my third year at the University of Sydney and I would like to be considered for the position of Vice President. Currently, I am one of the Year Representatives for my DMD3 cohort and so, I am confident in liaising, organising and mediating with members of the Faculty, tutors and my fellow class mates. The skills that I have learnt whilst being Year Representative would give me an excellent foundation on which to represent all students within the ADSA.

 

As I will be entering into my final year of study I am very passionate about the advocacy work the ADSA has done, particularly regarding the oversupply of dentists. If elected I would continue this fight to ensure that dental students are not left unemployed upon graduation. Finally, I hope to help continue expand the ADSA and cement the organisation as a leader in improving the future of dentistry.

 

My weaknesses in life are definitely peanut butter M&Ms and salted caramel milkshakes.

 

Mohit Tolani

Hi everyone! My name is Mohit Tolani. Currently as ADSA National Convention’s co-convenor, I have garnered a profound understanding of the framework pertaining to ADSA and its stakeholders. This encompasses establishment and conduction of a successful convention program inviting funding, events, activities and mentoring and networking support from the sponsors and associates. Through this edifying journey, I have thoroughly enjoyed my role and can attest that I have been satisfied with the work delivered and outcomes reached.

 

ADSA has reached a remarkable standpoint from its initial conception. In a presidential capacity, I can confidently say that the dental students’ welfare and academic interests would be my upmost priority following implementation of novel ideas. As an example, with a successful policy management and convention program in 2013-2014, I wish to enhance the outcomes of this by connecting with university-based clinicians, local – regional dentists who would wish to support and offer guidance to the students pertaining to year levels; assisting their transition from university and real life clinical practice (further details to be discussed within due course) and extend the community outreach aspect of ADSA.

Significant previous experiences include:

• President (current) and sponsorship officer (2012, 2013) of the Griffith University Dental Students’ Association (GUDSA)

• Vice President (2013 – current) and Treasurer (2011, 2012) of the Rotaract Club of Southport

• National People of Australia Ambassador (2013 – current) for the Australian Multicultural Council, Australian Government

• Chief Executive Officer (2012) of the Griffith Innovation Challenge Program

• Secretary (2008, 2009) of the Sydney University Science Society (Scisoc)
   

Working with ADSA would provide me with a grateful chance to contribute to this organisation and the dental schools nationally lucratively. I believe that it is a fusion of the experiences from academic and community service together with challenges with each task/project endured that have shaped me prolifically, both personally and professionally. 

 

Should this opportunity be given to me, I vouch that all tasks will be conducted efficiently, diligently and above all, with a good moral standing. Thereby, I shall request your support for 2014 and lastly, “together we can do it”.

 

Cherie Yam

My name is Cherie Yam and I would love to be the ADSA Sponsorship officer in 2015. I am a current Third Year Griffith University Dental student and I believe that I have the commitment and qualities to contribute to ADSA in a positive way.

 

This year I was lucky enough to be in charge of all the social events for the 2014 ADSA national convention. It gave me really good exposure to what the ADSA committee aims to achieve and I also became familiar with the ‘art of negotiation’!  

 

In 2013 I was lucky enough to have the chance to travel to Northern India for some dental volunteering. As a result, I have had experience contacting organizations for donating dental materials for the communities in these rural areas. I have also been involved in various student committees throughout my high school and university years so I have good insight into how a committee should be run. I think I have the abilities of an effective sponsorship officer and I believe it will be a rewarding experience for me.

 

I hope to see you all at Convention 2014!!! Brace Yourselves!