Touro College of Dental Medicine hosts first live hooding, awards ceremony

Valhalla, N.Y. — Touro College of Dental Medicine held its first live hooding and awards ceremony to celebrate its second class of graduates — a year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the school to opt for an all-virtual commencement to honor its inaugural graduating class.

Graduates were joined by a limited number of guests for the May 26 in-person, outdoor hooding andawards ceremony held on the New York Medical College campus after the state changed their guidelines for outdoor gatherings, according to the school.

“These talented women and men have persevered and survived not only the four long, hard years of a rigorous, demanding, dental curriculum, but also the most difficult year in the past century,” said Ronnie Myers, D.D.S., dean of TCDM. “They have done so with incredible calm and fortitude, seeing the goal and reaching the finish line.”

Stanley M. Bergman, chairman and CEO of Henry Schein, Inc., served as the distinguished keynote speaker for the ceremony. He challenged graduates to continue taking risk in their futures, just as he has over the course of his career.

“Why not graduate from a school that has a great vision. Why not think of any idea that you really believe will make a difference to yourself and the profession and society, and say ‘I want to go for it.’ It requires some guts and requires passion,” said Mr. Bergman. “Don’t take failure as an option and discard it. We learn from things we experience. Why not?”

The live event was followed by a virtual join commencement ceremony with the New York Medical College.