The University of Louisville School of Dentistry held its convocation ceremony Saturday, May 8 at the Palace Theatre. Although in-person attendance was limited due to COVID-19, viewers were able to watch the ceremony live on YouTube.

This year's graduating class included 119 DMD candidates and 30 Dental Hygiene candidates. Dean T. Gerard Bradley, B.D.S., M.S., Dr.Med.Dent., praised the class of 2021 for their resilience. "Overcoming adverse effects. Functioning well in times of stress. These are the qualities that this group of students have shown in the past year. When the ask and effort is greater, so too is the satisfaction of rising to the occasion, and getting to the finish line is the sweeter."

Dr. Bradley also acknowledged the ULSD faculty for helping this year's graduates get to the finish line. "We wouldn't all be here today if it wasn't for our faculty," he said. "When COVID hit and we had to pivot from in-person instruction to online, this was not something that was easy for a clinical training in a clinical program. But our faculty responded and pivoted along with our students."

DMD class president Blake Reed echoed the dean's praise for faculty and staff in his commencement address. "Getting us to this moment after the last 15 months we've had is an incredible feat," he said. "We as a class are extremely grateful for all the hard work getting us finished on time."

Dental hygiene class president Hannah Tak also spoke about the resilience of this year's graduates. "When the world seemed to come to a stop, the class of 2021 kept going," she said.

 Students receiving awards this year include:

• Academy of Dental Materials Award: Michael C. Guzelian
• Academy of General Dentistry Award: Parker L. Falkenberg, Cristin D. Jackson
• Academy of Operative Dentistry Award: Allison N. James
• Academy of Osseointegration Outstanding Dental Student in Implant Dentistry: Jamie R. Progebin
• Alliance to the Louisville Dental Society Award for Ethics in Dentistry: Gregory L. Kibler
• American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry Award: Sintelle E. Kent
• American Academy of Implant Dentistry Award: Betsy H. Grove
• American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Implant Student Award: Joshua S. Mayo
• American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Award: Rupika M. Narain
• American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Award: Jamie R. Progebin
• American Academy of Oral Medicine Award: Rupika M. Narain
• American Academy of Orofacial Pain: Hana M. Reed
• American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Award: Rupika M. Narain
• American Academy of Periodontology Award: Andrew W. Race
• American Association of Endodontists Award: Robert K. McWhorter
• American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Award: Joanna C. Frazier
• American Association of Orthodontists Award: Logan T. Wedding
• American Association of Public Health Dentistry Award: Karisse Seegobin
• American Association of Public Health Dentistry Dental Hygiene Award: Angelique Kaiser
• American College of Dentists Student Leadership and Professionalism Award: Blake H. Reed
• American College of Prosthodontists Predoctoral Student Prosthodontic Achievement Award: Katie N. Melich
• American Dental Society of Anesthesiology Horace Wells Senior Student Award: Mohammad Ronaghi
• Brian D. Stone Memorial Award: Austin R. Rodenberg
• Colgate Student Total Achievement Recognition (STAR) Award: Kate Hempfling
• Dental Hygiene Legacy Scholarship: Ciana Washington (2019-2020), Tiffany Bass (2020-2021)
• Dental Hygiene Professionalism Award: Kate Hempfling
• DMD Professionalism Award: Robert K. McWhorter
• Dr. Edrie M. Lohri Dental Hygiene Award: Hannah Tak
• Dr. X. Elwood Sanders Oral Surgery Award: Laura E. Spence
• E. B. Gernert Community Service Award: Alana M. Paolasini
• Hanau Prosthodontics Award: Peter Hamrick McElroy
• International College of Dentists Student Humanitarian Award: Adrienne M. Michael
• International College of Dentists Student Leadership and Professionalism Award: DaNae' N. Graves
• International Congress of Oral Implantologists Award: Adam Q. Perry
• Karen Andrus Award: Jake D. Murley
• L. D. Pankey Occlusion Award: Katie N. Melich
• LASDA Student Leadership Award: Blake H. Reed
• Louisville Dental Society Professionalism Award: Andrew J. Monell
• Lt. Dr. Claire VanLandingham Memorial Scholarship: Karisse Seegobin
• Pierre Fauchard Award for Dental Literature: Laura E. Spence
• Proctor and Gamble Crest Prevention Award for Outstanding Dental Hygiene Student in Preventive Oral Health: Rafael Reyes Font
• Psi Omega Fraternal Achievement Award: Betsy H. Grove
• Quintessence Book Award for Clinical Achievement in Periodontics: Niti D. Patel
• Quintessence Book Award for Clinical Achievement in Restorative Dentistry: Eric J. Esplin
• Quintessence Book Award for Research: Kelton R. Cronquist
• Scholastic Achievement Award of Psi Omega Fraternity: Alok H. Shiva
• Sigma Phi Alpha Dental Hygiene Honor Society: Hannah Tak, Madison Blair, Kate Hempfling
• Southeastern Academy of Prosthodontics Award: Alok H. Shiva
• Special Dental Hygiene Program Award for Outstanding Scholarship: Madison Blair, Addison Brasher, Emily Durbin, Sharmaine Dela Pena, Kate Hempfling, Xin Jiang, Nia Kennedy, Juliette Rosado, Hannah Tak
• The Hu-Friedy Golden Scaler Award: Madison Blair

 Elections to Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Honor Dental Society include:

• James Ashcraft
• Kelton Cronquist
• Nicholas English
• Allison James
• Sari Jensen
• Robert McWhorter
• Katie Melich
• Rupika Narain
• Adam Perry
• Jamie Progebin
• Hana Reed
• Alok Shiva
• Elaine Simpson
• Logan Wedding

View photos from Convocation: https://www.flickr.com/photos/88011463@N04/albums/72157719165932564  

View the video of 2021 Convocation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3rOwKMEskA0