AO Articulator The student publication April 2012 Highlights of this issue: • AO Destination- 2011 Convention • “Not an Undergrad, Not Yet an Alumni” • Chapter Spotlight – UPenn’s Beta Chapter Celebrating a “Red Hot” New Year’s Eve in Tampa, FL • AO Scrub Sale • GOHI awards And this is what the students have to say… Steve Boss (Eta, Columbia) Some of the mentors were the • Scottsdale, AZ- 2012 Convention aforementioned lecturers, others were deans of dental schools, and a few were just straight ballers. Time was set aside for us to get to know them better, but more importantly, they WANTED to get to know us better. There was genuine Alpha Omega Annual Convention is a interest in letting the young members place where the most successful and in; a concerted effort to educate the knowledgeable dentists in the world come young members alongside, and together to share their skills and their lives independent from, the alumni; and an with each other. During the day, there Students enjoying honors night atmosphere where just by showing up were educational lectures given about and participating, we belonged. oral surgery techniques, Botox, practice Faryn Berger (Pi, U-Toronto) and life management by the foremost This year I had the opportunity to leaders in their fields, all of whom are AO attend the AO International members. The best part is that these Convention in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. learning opportunities weren’t limited to The event was my first convention, the lecture rooms. There was free time to having been a Pi chapter member at relax on the beach and mingle with the very same people who just dropped some the University of Toronto for the past two years. It was a wonderful of the most insightful knowledge any experience, giving me great insight dentist, let alone student, could ask for. into the international arm of AO. I attended business meetings, But experiencing Alpha Omega as a continuing education lectures, dinners, student is surely different than and foundation events throughout the experiencing it as an alumni. There are week. Meeting other dental students about 15 or so dental students spending their days in the sun and their nights at the and dentists from North America, Israel and Europe was an amazing bars, hoping to be welcomed into this experience. tight knit family that has been around for over 100 years. And welcomed we were. 2012 ISR Steve Boss with Dr. Overall, I was overwhelmed by how Marvin Stone welcoming everyone was and how I All of the students were assigned an immediately felt like a part of the alumni mentor. international AO family. First of all, I’d like to start by saying there is no way to actually describe what an incredible experience an Alpha Omega Annual Convention is without experiencing it firsthand. Now that that’s out of the way, let me tell you all about it.