What can you do to make a difference?

The atmosphere inside the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center was charged with anticipation the evening of May 26. Prior to commencement exercises for Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry, family and friends filled the foyer of the Dallas performance hall, exchanging hugs and words of congratulations with graduates.

Once the ceremony was underway, commencement speaker Dr. Harold Slavkin, professor and dean emeritus of the University of Southern California Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, posed some challenging questions for graduates.

“There’s the version of life that I live in, and there’s the version where kids don’t finish high school, where type 2 diabetes is prevalent, where tooth decay is rampant,” Slavkin said. “Imagine what it’s like to have persistent poverty … and make a difference.

“Do well, do good, look back … and see as you go forward, can you pass this on to the larger community in DFW, or for some of you, beyond the state of Texas? What can you do to make a difference?”