Donors Connect With Scholarship Students at Annual Event

From left, Dr. Charles Rose, James Amir and Dr. Eileen Hoskin

RSDM’s annual Donor/Scholar reception is often a time when past meets present. Alumni remember classmates who inspired them to create scholarships, while others recall family members for whom scholarships are named. They meet students who embody the values of their award’s namesake.

At last month’s reception, Dean Cecile A. Feldman urged students to pay close attention. “Over the next half hour, you will have the opportunity to hear some of the stories of our donors. Let’s all listen. There are great lessons to be learned. I hope you will find them as inspiring as I have.’’

More than 40 scholarships were awarded at the event. Donors who created new ones for the Chancellor’s Scholarship Match campaign, which double and triple- matches scholarship gifts until the end of 2019, were also recognized.

Dr. Charles Rose was one of many presenters who funded scholarships in memory of classmates. The Raymond A. Rossi D.M.D. Endowed Scholarship, created by several members of the Class of ’84, honored a graduate with a generous spirit, in addition to keen academic and clinical skills. “Ray was a very influential part of our class,’’ said Rose. “It was his willingness to reach out and help others that we remember, whether it was to help them on certain projects, or to learn certain techniques, or to give emotional support. He deepened the camaraderie among all of us.’’ After Dr. Rossi passed away in 2003, his classmates established the funds in his honor.

Dr. Rose was grateful for the chance to meet fourth-year student James Amir and tell him more about Dr. Rossi’s life. “It’s great to hand over money, but I think it’s even more meaningful for the students to have some type of connection with the person who the scholarship is named after,’’ he said.

The experience of presenting the Rossi award motivated Rose to donate money to the scholarship created by another RSDM 1984 classmate, Dr. Eileen Hoskin, a faculty member who, along with her husband and fellow faculty member Dr. Craig Hirschberg, endowed a scholarship this year during Chancellor’s Scholarship Match. Feldman reminded donors and scholars at the event that they all are invested in the same thing. “Each graduate of the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, by a conservative estimate, goes on to help tens of thousands of patients. And while the numbers are impressive, it is really about changing one life at a time. “