ADI President’s message

Hello Fellows of the ADI,

“Winston Churchill said, “Now, this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” The outcome of the World’s worst war against COVID-19 remains uncertain.

I hope all is well with you and your family during these unprecedented times.

This pandemic continues to push us to our capacity that we have never experienced. We still have many problems to figure out, but I am confident that our fellows will continue to solve whatever comes up. I am sure we all await to whatever our new normal becomes and our opportunity to congregate and fraternize once again.

Former University of Texas Chancellor, retired Admiral, and retired Navy Seal William H. McRaven wrote a story in the Washington Post that is worth sharing widely-

“For a would-be Navy SEAL, Hell Week is the worst week of the toughest military training in the world. It is six days of no sleep, constant physical and mental harassment, and one “special day” at the Mud Flats. The Mud Flats are an area between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, where the water comes together and creates a swampy patch of terrain, a muddy bog that tests your determination to be a SEAL.

My training class had been out of the mud for a short period of time when the instructors, looking to weed out the weak of mind and body, ordered the entire group of 55 men back into the bog. The mud consumed each man until there was nothing visible but our heads. We were all exhausted, numb from the cold and desperate to hold on. The instructors told us that we could all leave the mud — if just five men quit. It was the instructors’ way of turning us against each other.

It was apparent that some of the trainees were about to give up. There were still eight hours to go before the sun rose — eight more hours of bone-chilling cold. Several of the students started moving to dry ground; they were ready to quit. And then, one voice began to echo through the night — one voice raised in song. The song was terribly out of tune but sung with great enthusiasm. One voice became two, and two became three, and before long the entire class was singing. The instructors threatened us with more time in the mud if we kept singing, but the singing persisted. Those of us stuck in the mud believed that if one of us could start singing when he was up to his neck in mud, then maybe the rest of us could make it through the night. And we did.

Today, the coronavirus has thrown us all in the mud. We are cold, wet, and miserable, and the dawn seems a long way off. But while we should not be cavalier about the dangers of this pandemic, neither should we feel hopeless and paralyzed with fear. Hope abounds.”

COVID-19 has strained people all over the world to make forceful changes to their careers and life patterns, and our daily actions as well affected. We are in uncharted waters, but as a group and a world, we will manage those situations and find the way to overcome this challenge. It is critical we stick together, that we are respectful, devoted, and dauntless. Singing in the mud together, not in talks but in acts. The love that can heal our damaged and anguished world COVID-19 and all. As everyone heads out for these uncharted waters, I wanted to say “Peace Be With You.”

My goal as President of the ADI is to lead the academy in the right direction to heal unthinkable trauma from COVID-19 and create a positive environment which will help our fellows move back to normal. I feel that being the president of this prestigious organization is such a lifetime honor, and I will do my best to serve the academy with the highest level of efforts.

Lastly, the ADI is the most exclusive dental honor society, and our fellows are selected from the most outstanding group of dentists from all over the world. Whenever you need to describe the ADI to your colleagues, please use this phrase “Honor Society for Science & Global Oral Health.” It is remarkably simple to memorize yourself and it precisely describes that Who We Are!

The darker the night, the more glorious the dawn.