Her involvement with university dental clubs? It began in her sophomore year as a Temple University undergrad. That’s when Inna Gorelik, ’26, realized dentistry would be her focus, rather than medicine or engineering. “What better place to meet students with a similar interest than the predental club,” she says.

Shadowing a family friend who was a Temple Dental alum and who spoke highly of the school helped change her mind. So, too, did her pediatric dentist, also an alum. “So I got involved with the predental club,” she explains, “and eventually became co-president.”

Enthused enough about her undergrad experiences to make Temple Dental her top choice and then become an ASDA class representative during her first year, Gorelik didn’t stop there. She continued to be involved with ASDA, next as president-elect and then president. This spring she “handed off the torch” to another Kornberg student but will stay involved during her last year “because of opportunities with networking and building relationships outside of Temple Dental.”

Looking back, she says, “I’ve grown tremendously through ASDA as I’ve gotten increased responsibilities and helped with advocacy. It’s been a lifeline with classmates and given me so much support from alumni.”

She adds, “I wouldn’t have been as successful if I hadn’t been involved with a dental organization from the start.”