Last Wednesday, the Pre-Dental Society held their annual Clay Sculpting Contest. A total of 20 contestants came to show off their skills and create art with clay. On a first come, first serve basis, the 20 spots filled up quickly. “Usually we’re down in the lobby, so more people get to see [the event], but this year we’re up in front of the ballroom,” said Anudeep Grewal, President of the Pre-Dental Society. “So it’s hard to get people, actually, but we advertised pretty well and we got a pretty decent turn out.” Indeed, the tables were lined with busy sculptors who had to finish their creations in a total of 45 minutes. Each competitor competed for the prize of $75, $50, and $25 for first, second, and third place, respectively.
One may think that dentistry and clay sculpting are completely irrelevant to each other. However, Grewal explains that, “the field of dentistry involves manual dexterity and a lot of skills with the hands. This event, not only is it fun, it also shows students how the use of hands are important in dentistry”. Contestants definitely had fun. One of the participants, Melissa Shwartz, a junior mechanical engineering major, created a griffin figurine using her own sculpting tools. She had some prior experience sculpting, but when asked if she thought she had a chance of winning, she answered, “oh, I don’t know. I was just looking around and some of these are really good!”
The winners were chosen by the Pre-Dental Society e-board who judged based on creativity, intricacy, and overall effort. They ended up choosing Victor Del Corro for third place with his “Dragon Chilling on a Rock”, Jakub Kozluk second place with “Puffin Named Swag”, and Meea Yim for first with “Pikachu with Teeth”. Yim’s Pikachu won for her detail and focus on teeth and the toothbrush it held. After all, it was an event held by Pre-Dental Society. It was apparent how fun the contestants had as Del Corro states, “well, I wasn’t really here to win, just want to have fun. But I won third place so that’s good”. “It was really fun!” Yim chimed in. With a good turnout and positive feedback from the students, Pre-Dental Society was able to hold a very successful event.
