ULW 2.0 X IMU

1. Esther Kok is a 4th year dental student who likes to explore new perspectives and stretch her personal boundaries beyond her limits. Upon entering dental school, she knew immediately that she wanted to gain as much out of it as possible. Hence, she joined MDSA as the academic and research officer in her first year. She enjoyed interviewing different specialists about the challenges they faced on their road to success and their opinions on the future development in dentistry. She was also motivated to share the success stories of these dentists to her peers. This valuable experience led her to continue her service in MDSA as a secretary. After graduating from secondary school, she took upon herself to hold tuition classes for secondary school students. The joy of helping students achieve better results fills Esther’s heart with a sense of achievement, and realizing that her effort and dedication in teaching is bearing fruit gives her pleasure.

2. Jacklyn has always been actively organizing and participating in events since her first year in IMU, be it in university or outside of IMU. She is currently undertaking the role as MDSA’s president-elect. Her passion in organizing events stems from the satisfaction she receives from seeing students participating actively and enjoying the event. For Jacklyn, it is fulfilling to be able to work together, learn and grow alongside her committee. She believes that her experiences in MDSA and past events, working and communicating with both lecturers and peers, helps in her personal development. During her pastime, she enjoys playing volleyball and has actively participated in IMU cup annually and represented IMU in intervarsity games.

3. Karishma never imagined her 5 years in dental school would be so fulfilling beyond her expectations. She started by balancing her usual Odissi dance training for performances with the routine of preclinical school. After which she taught Bollywood classes once a week under her university’s dance club. However, in Year 3 she discovered a new passion for volunteering. It started over her semester break, with her signing up for simple dental screenings and joining Liter of Light. When the opportunity arose, Karishma took on the challenge of leading a team of 10 to provide free oral health care service to a low cost housing community located in Balakong. Around the same time she had started up a charity project titled Care2Brush (for every toothbrush sold the same amount gets donated back to a community in need). During her free time , she is a full-time volunteer under MAKNA and an avid Netflix fan.

4. Elaine is a 4th year dental student who aspires to see change in the community and seeks opportunities to contribute to the cause. More recently, she took up the role of Chief Editor of ‘Teeth Talk’ magazine (2018, 2nd Edition). She believes that the magazine serves as a good platform for effective patient education in a generation that is dependent on the internet, which consists of many unreliable resources. Convinced that good patient education is essential in improving the society’s oral health, she feels that the experience of leading a team of dedicated people with shared vision in making the 2nd issue a success was a rewarding one. Amidst the busy life of a dental student, Elaine finds journaling an oasis of serenity. Writing helps her thought-process, and coupled with drawing to personalize each entry, she finds the activity all the more enjoyable.

5. Tan Vei Xhion is a final year dental student who constantly seeks out new opportunities and challenges to take on. Since freshman year, Xhion has taken on numerous leadership roles in IMU such as Class Representative 2015, IMU Orientation Committee President 2016 and Oral Health Committee (OHC) President 2016/17. During his tenure as OHC President, he served as advisor to many organising sub-committees that organised various annual dental events, notably Oral Health Week 2017 “The Floss Awakens”, Dental Ball 2017 and Dental Cup 2017. In 2017, he was the founding President of the Asia Pacific Dental Students’ Association Malaysian Division. One of his notable achievements is hosting the 45th APDSA Annual Congress 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia which hosted approximately 500 dental students and dentists from across Asia. Furthermore, Xhion also participates in various sports in IMU Cup and Dental Cup annually. Xhion’s hobbies are weightlifting and playing guitar. Also, he enjoys spending most weekends out and about with his family.

6. Sarah Soon is a 5th year dental student who dreams big. To her, university life is an ongoing experiment where she discovers what she’s good at and what she isn't. Though a soft-spoken person, she dared herself to take up the challenges of various roles in different committees such as social concerns representative of IMU’s Student representative council 16/17, academic director of the 45th Asia Pacific Dental Students Association (APDSA) Annual Congress, and also secretary of Malaysian Dental Students’ Association (MDSA) 18/19. Above all things, Sarah is an aspiring singer- songwriter. One of her favorite activities is to perform in school events. To her, music is more than just a way to express herself. It is also a form of communication in this age where people can sometimes seem so distant. To date, she has one single on Spotify and she hopes, in years to come, that she will be able write more songs that can mend broken hearts.