As the daughter of two teachers, Andrada may have been born with the DNA for mentoring, but if you ask her, it really manifested itself epigenetically. A Brazilian native, she completed both dental and endodontic specialty training at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (FUSC) in Florianopolis. Her mentor, endodontic department chair Dr. Wilson Tadeu Felippe, offered her the opportunity to pursue an academic career—an unexpected shift from her plan to remain in clinical practice. “I never thought I would be an academic in Brazil, but my mentor Dr. Felippe saw that in me,” Andrada said. “I didn’t believe I was patient enough to teach, but I always saw him and his wife Dr. Mara Cristina Santos Felippe (FUSC department vice chair) do so much for us. I never thought that would be me. When I finished my endo training, he urged me to teach others. ‘You have that in you,’ he told me. ‘You just haven’t discovered yourself yet.’ They always supported me all the way.” Moving to the United States to retrain in endodontics and earn a doctoral degree in oral biology (also earning an American DDS degree at University of Detroit Mercy), she said she found the same level of mentoring and encouragement from Dr. Robert White at Harvard. “Predoctoral and advanced graduate students routinely sought Dr. Andrada’s advice and consultation,” wrote Dr. White in his recommendation letter for the Foundation Fellowship. “Her ability to patiently listen, understand, clearly communicate and follow through are most
notable character traits. She readily develops and maintains mentor relationships with her students, caring for them and, in turn, always learning with them. Her ‘classroom style’ is engaging, interactive, and enthusiastic while remaining flexible and creative. Dr. Andrada truly enjoys sharing her knowledge and teaching.” Andrada also brings elements of her Latin heritage to the teaching experience. She particularly appreciated a feeling of family within her professional community in Brazil. “Everyone was family, everyone was there to support each other, to grow together. That’s what I want to pass to my students
now…they should know my door is always open, you can knock and close the door and cry if you want, or just share something nice, I’m here for them,” she said. “It’s very fulfilling. That’s what I want to do every day. When a student texts me in a panic about a no-show, being able to reassure them we’ll find another case, I just love having that relationship with them.” Her own growth as an educator has been enhanced greatly by participating in the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Leadership Conference, thanks to a scholarship from the Foundation.
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