Photo By James Black | Thomas Farrell, Jr., Lt. Cmdr. Sean Farrell, and Thomas Farrell, Sr. represent three...... read more read more
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By James A. Black
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Windblown banners shone brightly in the morning sun, signaling the sea changes on the horizon for the Naval Postgraduate Dental School’s (NPDS) Class of 2023, who joined an esteemed corps of some of the world’s best trained dental surgeons and specialists with their graduation on June 9.
As the graduates assembled for official class photographs on the steps in front of the iconic Tower at Walter Reed, the mood was both joyful and nostalgic – with many faculty and students reminiscing about the challenges of living and learning during a pandemic. For the graduates and their families, the ceremony represented the culmination of many years of intensive study and sacrifice.
“I'm so proud to be graduating from the Naval Postgraduate Dental School - an institution with such a rich history and tradition and I'm grateful for the amazing faculty who have prepared us all so well," said Lt. Cmdr. (Dr.) Richard Sawya, who earned a graduate degree in periodontics and is now slated to join the dental staff at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California.
After 100 years of service, the NPDS remains a beacon for outstanding scientific and evidence-based instruction and innovative cost-effective highly productive training programs as best summarized by Capt. Steven Stokes, the dean of NPDS.
The NPDS takes pride in its residency programs in oral and maxillofacial pathology, oral pain, periodontics, prosthodontics, comprehensive dentistry, endodontics, and maxillofacial prosthetics.
This group of 22 graduates persevered, forging a path forward as the much-celebrated centennial class of 2023. “That’s very special,” said Lt. Cmdr. (Dr.) Sean Farrell, who after four years of post-graduate study is now shipping out to Twenty-Nine Palms Naval Hospital in California. “He’s the first in our family to become a doctor as well as the family’s first military officer, so we couldn’t be prouder,” said Thomas Farrell, the graduate’s father.
Farrell’s family immigrated from Ireland to the United States in 1846 after surviving “The Great Potato Famine,” now he’s poised to use his advanced training – on the homeland and abroad - to provide innovative dental care throughout his promising career.
Previously, Farrell earned his Doctor of Dental Science degree from the University of Michigan Dental School and subsequently deployed with the U.S. Navy. While on the high seas, he decided to pursue a graduate degree in periodontics – a specialty that equips dentists to provide high level care in the prevention of gum disease, and when appropriate play a role in tooth restoration or replacement.
Farrell and Sawya are part of the Navy Dental Corps - comprised of more than 1,300 active duty and reserve dentists who are practicing or training in 14 different dental specialties. Generally, Navy dentists are stationed at military treatment facilities, Marine Corps battalions, clinics, and hospitals located within the United States and various overseas locations.
In the future members of the class of 2023 may be called up to serve aboard the USNS Comfort or the USNS Mercy, both of which provide mobile, acute surgical medical facilities when called upon to support the U.S. military and support disaster relief and humanitarian operations worldwide.
Both Sawya and Farrell agree, “The Navy is not just a job – it’s an adventure!”
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.14.2023 16:29 |
| Story ID: | 447183 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 319 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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