Alumni Board

Remembering Where it all Started

John D. Dinka, D.D.S., '86

As new or recent alumni, many University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry graduates face a plethora of challenges. Board exams, licensing, graduate programs, job placement, student loan repayments, relationships, and family responsibilities are but a few of many things that must be managed. Reflecting back on this stage of life, I often wonder how I could navigate so many trials. Hindsight, however, is wonderful in allowing the placement of these things into perspective. With your indulgence, please let me share my journey and, in the process, perhaps provide some guidance on how you can manage everything ahead.

In April of 1986, board exams, requirements, graduation, and a bartending job were all on the plate. Fortunately, the boards seemed to go well, but the results would not come out until sometime in June. Requirements, on the other hand, were far from complete. Units of removable denture, crowns, and other cast restorations were in short supply back then, and of course, without those requirements being completed, your diploma was on hold. Commencement was held in May of 1986. While allowed to walk, my diploma jacket was empty. Fortunately, over the next two and a half months, with countless hours and much anxiety, those last units were completed, and the requirements were signed off on. The board results arrived with all sections passed. The state and DEA licenses could now be applied for, and the hunt for a dental position could begin.

The love of my life, Catherine, was finishing her second /starting her third year at Detroit Mercy Dental during this time. Our longer-term goal was to practice together, leaving my nearerterm objective to find an associateship. That position at a private practice within Detroit was finally realized in December of 1986. Now working full time, it made sense to get engaged and start the wedding plans for the summer of 1987. We kept renting a modest flat in Hamtramck and drove old cars to help keep living expenses down, and I was able to do some moonlighting at a friend’s office. This enabled me to start paying down the $80,000 plus in accrued student loan debt. Amazingly, my first full year out of school, my total income was just $21,000 from doing dentistry. Yet we paid the bills and were happy.

1988 Saw Catherine’s on-time graduation and the transition to a second associateship for me. Once licensed, she was able to find some parttime work while we started looking for our own practice to purchase.

We looked at offices from Port Huron to Ypsilanti over several months before settiling on an office in Sterling Heights, where we practice today. I continued the current associateship in Trenton through the first year of having our place. Fortunately, the transition went well, with good patient retention. Hard work and the extra income enabled the student loan debt to be retired in the spring of 1990, and that summer, we bought our first home.

Needless to say, contributing to our Alma Mater during those early years was not a priority. Money was tight, and more pressing matters took precedence. As we became established, however, and a prospering business ensued, attentions circled back to include recognizing the institution that was instrumental in our success.

While it is easy to see why early on in our careers, most of us may not be in a position to contribute back to the School of Dentistry, I would encourage all of you to share in your good fortune and remember the school that helped provide the skills and knowledge that have led to your professional achievements.

Sincerely,

John D. Dinka, D.D.S. ‘86 President, Alumni Board of Directors

2021 - 22

ALUMNI BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President

John D. Dinka, D.D.S. ’86 Vice-President

Mario Tomei, D.D.S. ’92 Secretary

Marcy Murrell, R.D.H. ’93, D.D.S.’02

Board Members

Sarmad Alyas-Askar, M.S., D.D.S. ’13, M.S.

Sarah Charland, R.D.H. ’17, B.S. ’17

Linda Dobis, D.D.S. ‘94 Eryn Huber, R.D.H. ‘09, D.D.S. ‘16 Mark R. Mortiere, M.S. ‘82, D.D.S. ‘86 Peter Namou, D.D.S. ‘17 Richard Raad, D.D.S. ‘84 Basam Shamo, D.D.S. ‘13 Benjamin Underwood, D.D.S. ‘15 Jenna Zelek, R.D.H. ‘01, B.S. ‘01