The unbridled ASDA enthusiasm shown by Nick Capezio, DMD ’18, deserves recognition and we congratulate him as our March Member of the Month. Nick caught ASDA fever this past October at the National Leadership Conference (NLC) in Chicago, Illinois. At NLC, Nick was struck by the level of involvement ASDA exhibits at the national level in the betterment of the dental profession. Here he realized the importance of looking beyond our GSDM community and gained a new appreciation for organized dentistry at a national level. As he looks forward, he sees ASDA as a valuable organization in which dental students can broaden their exposure and involvement in their future profession.

To date, Nick’s most memorable ASDA experience comes from his time at NLC. Like ASDA, Nick also calls the Windy City home. While in town, Nick had the opportunity to bridge his new life in Boston with his old in Chicago as he shared an authentic Italian deep-dish pizza at Pizano’s with his parents and the BU ASDA crew. This meal brought to light the universal nature of our experience at GSDM and brought things full circle for Nick.

Since then, Nick continues to pursue his passion for ASDA, attending Annual Session this past February, where he continued to learn new leadership skills and network with dental students from across the country. When he is not busy with coursework, Nick has an ever-growing pile of books to read. Currently, The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguru is sitting on his nightstand, with a 20-page indent thus far.

If he was not pursuing a career in dentistry, Nick says he would return Quito, Ecuador, where he worked for a year at a nonprofit organization following graduation from his university. The nonprofit ran a library and taught classes six days a week. A few of his friends have remained in the country, working at other organizations. Nick reminisces that the lifestyle is very different down there, but he would not change a thing about how his own journey has played out.

For his closing remarks, Nick would like to thank the BU ASDA chapter for the opportunities to travel with the organization and experience the scope of ASDA’s operations at the district and national level. He has made some good friends through the organization and views it as an invaluable experience. He would like to encourage everyone to get involved with ASDA in whatever way they can.

Nick, we are so incredibly excited you caught such an insatiable case of ASDA fever and thank you for your enthusiasm and engagement. Congratulations again to our March Member of the Month!

Question: What do you get when you take 30 Boston University Dental Students, over 500 Dental and Predental Students from other school across the United States, and 103 inches of snow? Answer: a pretty awesome ASDA Annual Session. ASDA Annual Session took place at the Westin, Waterfront, Boston, MA February 18th- 21st, 2015; it was certainly a fun and eventful week for all.
Annual Session is all about preparing for next year while celebrating the achievement of the past year. “The Best Week Ever” kicked off on Wednesday night with a welcome address and reception given by Dean Jeffery H. Hutter. Dean Hutter welcomed all and encouraged visitors to enjoy the historic snow totals. On Thursday morning we learned about “The Three A’s of Awesome” with Neil Pasricha. Neil, our keynote speaker, took us on an emotional journey through his personal experience explaining how he overcame much heartbreak and became an award winning blogger and acclaimed author. He attributes much of his success and ability to overcome challenges to these three traits: Attitude, Awareness, and Authenticity. I highly suggest checking out his work!
A main part of Annual Session is electing our officials. As part of this process each candidate had to give prepared speeches to the entire conference attendance, and impromptu district caucuses. ASDA is broken up into eleven districts; Boston University is part of District 1. District 1 is notorious for being the toughest district caucus out of the bunch. After ample training we put the candidates through tough questioning in an intense environment and were able to hold up our “tough guy” image. After caucus we chose our candidates based on their performance. We met back together as a delegation to view the results of our elections as well as to vote on the resolutions for next year. All elections and delegations went extremely well. I cannot wait to see the success we have in the coming year.
There were a couple breakout sessions throughout the week addressing issues with patient’s perceptions, how to enhance our ASDA chapter, and how to be a rock star dental student. I personally focused on social media and how it effects our patient’s decisions, how to enhance advocacy in our chapter, and how to be successful in the clinic. 
In addition to the elections and breakout sessions we had a chance to celebrate the achievements of the past year. On Thursday night we walked the red carpet at the “Gold Crown Awards.” Schools from all over were recognized with Gold Crown Awards. The biggest award of the night, “Ideal Chapter” was taken home by UCLA. The conference was closed in grand fashion on Saturday night with the superhero themed “Presidents Gala.” In order to accommodate our group of thirty we decided to roll in as the CareBears with dental themed tummy power. We were the hit of the Gala with powers ranging from the “High Speed Hand Piece CareBear” to the “Cusp of Careabeary CareBear.”
Between learning about the Three A’s of Awesome, walking the Gold Crown red carpet, gracing the Presidents Gala with our tummy power, and welcoming everyone to our snowy city ASDA Annual Session proved to be truly #ASDAwesome and the #bestweekever. 


Keep an eye out for our Annual Session lunch 'n learn and if you want to know how you can attend the next ASDA conference, leave a comment below or contact us at asda@bu.edu.