Student Who Overcame Hardship in Ukraine Receives OMS Award

Anastasiya Dovzhenko and Dr. Salvatore Napoli

Fourth-year student Anastasiya Dovzhenko was forced to flee her home in the Ukraine after Russians occupied her town five years ago. She was ready to open her first oral surgery practice just as the bombing began.

In the U.S., she took steps to rebuild her life and career, enrolling in RSDM's Internationally Educated DMD program last year. This month, her hard work paid off when she was presented with the William H. Bell Award for Achievement in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

Faculty member Dr. Salvatore Napoli presented the award. "She picked herself up and started again,'' he said. "She has a lot of resilience.''