Andie Kraft, D2 from Marquette University School of Dentistry, shares how attending ASDA’s National Leadership Conference made a memorable impact on her.
At the beginning of the weekend, one of the ASDA district speakers said that NLC changed them in ways they would have never dreamed of. As I heard this person say that, I remember thinking, “How much can three days really change you?” Well, in all honesty, the speaker was spot on.
The keynote speaker on Friday was Josh Sundquist. Josh lost one of his legs at a young age, but later became a Paralympic ski racer. He was an absolutely amazing speaker and had me laughing every step of the way. My two big takeaways from his talk were: ‘1MT1MT’ and ‘hustle doesn’t mean hurry’. 1MT1MT means 1 more thing 1 more time. He went on to discuss how he had 1MT1MT on his skis, and when he was preparing for the paralympics he would do something extra each day. He later found out from his coach that 20 people were chosen to go to the paralympics and he was #20. So, he said, one of the things he did one of those times was what led him to get to the paralympics. Secondly, he said, “Hustle doesn’t mean hurry.” I feel like this connects with me a lot and other dental students as well. I’m always doing something whether it’s tutoring, at the sim lab practicing, studying, or going to the gym. It’s easy to feel like we are always on the go and in a hurry, but our hustle doesn’t have to be hurried. When we hurry, we make mistakes. It is best to take a deep breath, be methodical, and take our time.
There were a multitude of breakout talks throughout the weekend on various subjects. Some of my favorite talks included: “Getting into Residency: Tips for a Flawless Application & Interview Process”, “Solving Leadership Dilemmas: Managing the Evolution from Student to Dentist,” and “Dismantling Acts of Exclusion.” I learned so much about the application process for residencies including the timeline, the exams for different programs, interviews, and much more. I spoke with Dr. Ehlie Bruno so much after her talk that I almost missed lunch. She provided me with encouragement and gave me additional resources for mentorship. In the leadership dilemma session, Dr. Mike Meru gave life examples of struggles he ran into and how he dealt with them. He was also an amazing speaker. Lastly, but definitely not least, was Mauricio Velasquez and his session on dismantling acts of exclusion. WOW - this talk was incredible. Mauricio began by noting the difference in number of attendees between the previous talk of building one’s own practice, more than 100 students, to his, less than 20. Mauricio discussed various acts of exclusion he’s noted, in-group vs. out-group dynamics, and gave us templates we could use to discuss exclusive behavior and means to correct it.
The weekend was full of learning but we also had time to socialize. On Friday, MedPro hosted a boat cruise. The boat had three different levels each with a different genre of music. We were able to see the Chicago skyline perfectly and, fun fact, that was actually the same boat my high school prom was on. On Saturday, Aspen Dental hosted a mystery bar night. During one of the breaks at the conference, we went to the Aspen table to receive our wristbands which had the address of the bar, Untitled Supper Club, on them. The bar had a Prohibition era-inspired design and gave a roaring ‘20s vibe. They had a photo booth set up and also had someone walking around with a large selfie light camera. The night ended with the Coat Check Fiasco of 2022 where most of us waited over 2 hours to get our coats, some of us never got them back, and others missed their flight because their wallet was in their coat.
Overall, the weekend was transformative like the district speaker had said. I never thought three days could make such a difference but it did. Within a few days of leaving NLC, I applied for a mentorship program, started doing research, and am looking into ways to get involved in ASDA leadership. I walked away with friends that I probably would never have met otherwise, and information to help me be the best I can be. I am so grateful to have been able to attend NLC and I hope I’ll be lucky enough to attend in the future.