Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine students and faculty kicked off National Children’s Dental Health month by attending Give Kids A Smile events organized by local dental organizations, Nassau County Dental Society and Suffolk County Dental Society. Children that attended from Long Island communities were provided with free dental screenings, cleanings and fluoride treatments.

Students from the Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine at the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead for the Give Kids A Smile event organized bu Suffolk County Dental Society.

The Give Kids A Smile program, launched nationally by the American Dental Association in 2003, has helped to bring more than 5.5 million underserved children free oral health services.

Each year, Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine supports the two February events held locally in addition to leading its own back-to-school event in August in its Dental Care Center.

“I consider myself unbelievably lucky to have the opportunity to participate in three Give Kids A Smile events annually,” said student Erin Down. “Though each event is just one day, the lasting impact of helping a child find a dental home is the true success of these missions.”

Erin, who attended the Nassau County Dental Society’s event at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Nassau County, served alongside more than 300 volunteers to provide care to over 900 children.

Dr. Dimitrios Kilimitzoglou, Clinical Associate Professor at the Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine, described the event as the pinnacle of philanthropy, education and community outreach. “It’s a win-win for everyone involved: our dental students, the patients that we treat, and all of the volunteers who donate their skills and time.”

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The Stony Brook University Student Chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) strives to help students develop professionally and to familiarize students with the engineering industry by providing exposure to real-world applications.  The Go Baby Go project involves modifying off-the-shelf toy cars to allow access and mobility for special needs children between the ages of 2 and 7.

Mechanical engineering students with modified toy car.

The organization’s faculty advisor, Professor Anurag Purwar, introduced the students to Keep Moving Forward (KMF), a state-of-the-art, intensive physical therapy outpatient center in Garden City, Long Island. Amanda Kannengeiser, a physical therapist at KMF, has led the Go Baby Go movement for this chapter.

ASME’s collaboration with KMF has been centered around “Go Baby Go,” a project that falls directly in line with the goals of the organization.

“Go Baby Go provided an outlet to utilize my studies for the betterment of the community,” said Brian Clark, Stony Brook ASME’s Public Relations Chair.

The impact and potential of this program is incredible and far reaching. It provides an excellent outlet for engineering students to use their knowledge and expertise to make a great impact. “For kids with mobility issues, these cars are priceless. It gives them the chance not only to explore the world around them but relate to their peers,” Amanda said.

ASME and KMF will continue to collaborate in the future to explore new designs and ideas that could further the impact of this great program.

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The simple act of registering voters pushed Elif Onay ’21 out of her comfort zone, and she’s grateful for that.

Elif Onay focuses on the importance of voter registration.

Now the team leader for Stony Brook’s Center for Civic Justice, the 20-year-old from Staten Island has worked tirelessly to help create one of the most robust college voter registration models nationwide. It hasn’t always been easy.

“A lot of the times when there’s doubt about something, it’s because there’s fear about it,” Onay said. “If you talk about something as dark as climate change, people are scared of it because there’s not enough education on the facts.”

“Elif has impressed me with her work on civic activism on the Stony Brook campus to improve the rates of voter registration.

She has also been very active in the Turkish-American community,” said Nilsu Goren, former program director for the Turkish Coalition of America. “Through the Youth Leadership Congress and Washington internship, she has also gained skills on congressional outreach and grassroots activism,”

Onay’s experience has helped her tap into the Turkish half of her personality, and helped her make friends and connections along the way. Learning about Turkey increased Onay’s appreciation for the Center for Civic Justice, since Turkey, like many other countries, faces challenges in voter representation and civic engagement.

“If you don’t try to expand your horizons, what were you put on this earth for?” Onay said.

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