In celebration of Campus Sustainability Month this October, the ASDA Council on Professional Issues developed a three-part series discussing what it means to be clinically, personally and environmentally sustainable.

In celebration of Campus Sustainability Month this October, the ASDA Council on Professional Issues developed a three-part series discussing what it means to be clinically, personally and environmentally sustainable.
One billion is a large number. It’s almost unfathomable to envision what one billion of anything looks like. Rest assured, this number can manifest itself in many ways. One unfortunate truth is that one billion toothbrushes are thrown away annually, finding themselves in our landfills, on the beaches of Central America, in forests of West Africa.
Puppies are funny and cute. They are excited and curious, always ready to take on a challenge. When I think of the dental school experience, I think of dental students as puppies — excited to hold a handpiece and mirror for the first time, meeting patients and performing our first procedures.
For myself and my fellow third-year dental students, this summer was a time of great transition from the simulation lab to clinic. We donned face shields and nervously stepped into the unknown world of patient care.
The practice of meditation in some form has always been a part of my life. Growing up, my father would meditate and often speak to my brothers and I on the importance of the practice for the health of the connective relationship between mind, body and soul.
For all of us, the past six months have brought adjustment after adjustment. Bad news has littered our TV screens, we’ve experienced stress like never before, and life as we know it has changed — possibly forever. It’s been a lot to handle, and for my classmates and I, the start of clinic as DS3 students was thrown into the middle of all it.
I remember when my mom made this guac recipe for the first time back in high school for a party, and I could not. stop. eating. it. It’s the perfect consistency and has such great flavor with a little kick! It’s a staple in our house now, and I always ask her to make it whenever I go home.