Treasurer for American Association of Public Health Dentistry Club
Term dates: January 6th – April 18th, 2025
Position held: Treasurer for American Association of Public Health Dentistry Club (AAPHD), Temple University Student Chapter
Name of sponsoring organization: American Association of Public Health Dentistry Club (AAPHD)
- Contributed to writing and providing feedback for the organization’s Constitution
- Helped represent the organization at student organization fair, organized and created presentation materials
- Attended meetings with other officers of the club throughout the semester to discuss plans, activities, events, and future goals for the club
- Learned about club financial operations at the school by reading and/or watching HSC student org training materials and manuals, spending and event guidelines, reimbursement and requesting funds for club events, etc.
- Completed fund request form for ordering food for club’s general body meeting this semester, and communicated with SFC activities staff regularly throughout the process on ordering food for the general body meeting
- After fund request approval, placed order for appropriate amount of food for the general body meeting, which is open to the entire student body
- Helped organize the general body meeting along with other club officers, and presented and discussed about the club’s goals, interests, and ways to get involved in dental public health at the general body meeting to students who attended
- General body meeting date: January 29th, 2025, 12 pm – 1 pm
- Location: Lecture Room B
- Created google forms for students potentially interested in joining the club to fill out
- Collected student organization membership fee for students officially joined the club, and organized student info in Excel sheets
- Completed the process for creating and getting approved for the Agency Fund account for the club by communicating with main campus and HSC activities staff. Agency fund account can be used to deposit available funds from membership fees, fund raises, etc. into club’s account to be used for future club activities
I learned about the role and importance of dental public health in the local community as well as in a broader level in order to reach wider range of populations, and ways to contribute to public health endeavors such as community outreach, oral health hygiene and education, and advocating for public health legislation.
The organization’s activities complement the public health courses I have had so far in dental school. Additionally, the activity aligns well with my career goals, as I am interested in treating and helping the less privileged populations as a practicing dental professional in the future. In my view, public health is central to improving the health and quality of life of especially underprivileged and more vulnerable populations, due to the lack of access, education, and resources. We as dental students learn about the biomedical knowledge and technical skills in dentistry, and as future dental care professionals treat patients on an individual basis. On the other hand, public health provides the ability to reach a much wider and more diverse range of populations, which can be important as well to help the people most in need of care.