GRACE

The Texas A&M College of Dentistry community came together Dec. 7 for the 5th annual GRACE luncheon, a student-led event created to recognize how staff members’ contributions benefit dental students during their education here.

The event, which stands for “Gathering Respectfully to Appreciate Compassionate Employees,” featured lunch, a photo slideshow, coffee mug memento for each staff member and words of encouragement from students. For night shift employees, students provided a dinner.

During the lunch, student organizer Twain Henry II, D2, made a comparison between staff and the image of a seasonal wreath that adorns each coffee mug.

“You have your students, you have your faculty, and they’re like the ornaments on a wreath. While everyone may look at the ornaments, in order for the ornaments to be held up, you need a structural component — you need a framework like this wreath,” Henry said. “That’s what you are. Everything you do, your hard efforts, they are never overlooked.”

The event, which started at the college in 2012, has grown each year, thanks to countless hours among student organizers as well as faculty donations.

Student organizations that made the 2016 event a reality include:

• Student National Dental Association;
• Muslim Student Dental Association;
• Hispanic Student Dental Association;
• American Student Dental Association;
• Asian-American Dental Society;
• Texas Association of Women Dentists;
• Odontological Honor Society;
• Xi Psi Phi (ZIPS);
• Delta Sigma Delta;
• Psi Omega;
• DH1-DH2 classes; and
• D1-D4 classes.