Our former Spanish student, Ahmed Abdullah, recently sent us a wonderful email to thank our faculty and highlight the importance of the Spanish language in his daily clinic practice. We are happy to share his email here, with his consent:I’m emailing as a former student in the SPN minor, and a current 2nd year dental student at Stony Brook. Every single day that I have been in clinic, I have been asked to speak in Spanish with a patient. Whether calling for appointment changes, helping with taking a history, or determining a chief complaint, the skills of fluency and linguistic navigation I learned from your great professors have been massive. 

A stray thought that I had yesterday was:”Wow, I use my Spanish classes on a day to day basis in clinic WAY more than I use my biology classes”. 

Aside from simply making me a better Spanish speaker, my experiences in your classes have made me a more well-rounded and educated person. From the higher-level classes (particularly as a result of conversations with my classmates), I have become much more intimately aware of Hispanic culture, which strengthens me with understanding these patients massively. The point of this email ultimately is to let you all know what a positive difference you have made in my, and my current and future patients’ lives. 

Thank you.

Ahmed Abdullah, D.D.S Candidate, Class of 2026, Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine