The nearly 150 members of the UMKC School of Dentistry Class of 2020 received their degrees Friday evening, May 15th, with online pomp and circumstance. It was a full graduation ceremony with everything except the crowd – given the necessity to make it an online event as a safeguard against spread of the coronavirus.
Messages from the chancellor, provost, class presidents, dean and alumni offered congratulations, praise and encouragement. Advanced students received their doctorates, master’s degrees and specialty certificates, followed by 104 doctors of dental surgery and 29 bachelors of dental hygiene. A special ceremony inducted three of the dental graduates into the U.S. military dental corps. And two students and two faculty members received special awards. Enjoy photos from “home celebrations” contributed by the grads, their families and friends.
A Zoom chat room before the 7 p.m. event gave students a chance to connect with one another and with the dean, faculty and staff. Then a UMKC Conservatory student, Anthony Varner, sang “The Star Spangled Banner” to open the official ceremony. Photos from the pre-ceremony and ceremony.
Find a recording of the event on the UMKC Commencement page or a direct link to the School of Dentistry ceremony here.
Doctor of Dental Surgery
Samantha Marie Ackerman | Trevor Scott Harris | Yona Rasynouvong |
Ibrahim Al-Mutawa | Hanah Khaled Hassouneh | Michael Gerard Rehme, Jr. |
Mahdi Almeerza | Beau Haydon | Blake Christopher Roberts |
Shan Ao | Mehzabin Nagib Hirji | Chanelle Danai Roberts |
Carl Edward Appelman | Uyen Phuong Hoang | Mansoor Safder |
Amber Arshad | Henry Robert Hoffman | Ali Jawad Saleh |
Jaime Alonso Astorga | Yasmin Hussein | Derek Alan Schneickert |
William Richard Atchison | Courtney Rachele Kaba | Robert William Schroff, III |
Stephen Gerard Beck | Jamandeep Kaur | Benjamin Samuel Shanker |
Mohammad Behbehani | Wedi Khizirpour | Rachel Michelle Slenker |
Laura Ann Bernitsky | Dmytro Khvostenko | Michael Richard Smith |
Chelsea Runez Brown | Christopher Y. Kim | Anthony Tyler Spates |
Matthew Scott Bryant | Jim Kleoppel | Tyler Jay Stanley |
Brianna Buchheit | Anslee Mae Latourette | Ashley Nicole Stevenson |
Kaitlyn Marie Bumberry | Nuvia J. Lemus | Scott R. Sullivan |
Hallie C. Casteel | Christopher T. Lippold | Luxi Zhang Swisher |
Kelsie Cole | Tanner Lorenz | McKenzi Marie Taylor |
Mackenzie Corinne Colson | Dylan Eliot Love | Ashley Grace Thomas |
Drake Weston Conner | Jeffrey Alan Martin | Preston William Thomas |
Adam Lee Coppenbarger | Kelsey Martinez | Brianna Nicole Thompson |
Brittany Oluwaseyi Daniel | Hunter Anne McAreavy | Kirsten Dawn Thouvenot |
Theo Jamal Daniels | Jennifer Mink | Kaitlyn Sui Lan Tom |
Charlotte Marie Donaway | Akam S. Muhammad | Keeley Suzanne Treece |
Nicholas Konzen Dorau | Matthew John Muir | Vaidehi Trivedi |
Sophia Maria Dowling | Safa Nawazish | Spencer Brad Twaddle |
Frederick Drummond | Ryan William Ochsner | Christian Alexis Vargas |
David Lester Dumbach | Shiva Oliaei | Kristen Nicole Watts |
Alexis Nicole Eacret | James Paul Oslica | Dylan James Weber |
Jack T. Emory | Veeshesh Patel | Whitney Olivia White |
Leslie Allyn Erbe | Jamie Pieper | Jane Marie Witt |
Matthew A. Feigenbaum | Joel David Piper | Nadiene Oh Wu |
Trent Everett Finley | Casey Rae Prester | Erin Chie Yoshida |
Joseph Michael Gasser | Cole Prstojevich | Saba Yousaf |
Yasmine Gurmendi | Nathan John Pulsipher | Stephanie Annel Zarrasola |
Aliah Jesiah Haghighat | Rachel Renee Ragsdale |
DDS Class of 2020
Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene
BSDH – Clinical Entry
Shena Le′Rae Adams
Walla Ahmad
Afnan Hameed K. Alghuwainem
Olivia Caroline Bible
Kaytin Dawn Breid
Kelsi Ann Carnes
Reagan Elizabeth Carnes
Madison Josephine Cole
Anna DeLuca
Emery Ann Driskel
Julia Lee Edge
Emily Grace Feldkamp
Claire Jean Finley
KeShawnda Lane Frisby
Abbey Christine Hartley
Khozga Kamal Hussein
Rina Im
Mckenna L. Owens
Meghan E. Perry
Lexi Marie Pickert
Anna Elaine Pierson
Savanna Rose Rasmussen
Jessica Lynn Ray
Kyra Rice
Courtney Jean Roark
Kyley Jolene Shelton
Ashley Dawn Sperry
Jene′ B. Williams
BSDH-Degree Completion
Sarah Denise Adkins
Dental Hygiene Class of 2020
Advanced Education in General Dentistry
Tho Cao, D.M.D. 3
Alicia Finney, D.D.S. 3
Mozamel Malik, D.M.D. 3
Andree Paredes, D.D.S. 3
Endodontics
Ryan Harris, D.M.D. 3
Zane Lambert, D.M.D. 3
Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
Mary Becker, D.D.S.1
Kaylee Bergman, D.D.S.1
Laura Moore, D.D.S.1
Periodontics
Mark Hagan, D.D.S.2
Justin Tullis, D.D.S.2
GRADUATE DEGREES
Oral and Craniofacial Sciences Interdisciplinary Ph.D.
Erica Jackson, Ph.D.1
Oral and Craniofacial Sciences M.S. Degree
Mary Becker, D.D.S., M.S.1
Kaylee Bergman, D.D.S., M.S.1
Laura Moore, D.D.S., M.S.1
Justin Tullis, D.D.S., M.S.2
Dental Hygiene Education M.S. Degree
Cherie Fritz, M.S 2
Angela Heathman, M.S. 3
Teresa Wayman, M.S. 3
Amber Wessel, M.S. 2
1-Graduated-Fall 2019
2-Graduates-Spring 2020
3-Graduates-Summer 2020