Augusta University
Augusta University is celebrating collegiality on Monday, Nov. 9 during the third annual Values Week.
Someone who knows quite a bit about collegiality is Joseph Moore, a native of Madison, Georgia and a fourth-year dental student in The Dental College of Georgia.
Collegiality is reflected in collaboration, partnership, sense of community and teamwork.
“I am one of three boys,” Moore said. “And one of those boys is my identical twin, James. So my relationship with my brothers has played an important role in my life in two different ways: making me more competitive, definitely, but also teaching me how to be part of a team.”
Despite coming from a family immersed in health and science, Moore didn’t consider a career in dentistry until the final year of his undergraduate education in chemistry. His older brother is a dentist, and he encouraged Moore to shadow a dentist his senior year.
“I struggled with that a bit, because I spent my whole life trying to differentiate myself from what my brothers were doing,” said Moore. But after shadowing a team of father and son dentists in Athens, Georgia, Moore was inspired to pursue the profession.
“I always loved interacting with and talking with people — and I also really love taking care of them,” said Moore. “I always enjoyed trying to better people’s lives in any shape or form.”
He also liked the problem-solving element of dentistry, as every patient and every patient’s goals are different.
But Moore didn’t move straight from undergrad to The Dental College of Georgia.
“I actually applied four times to get into DCG, which made me appreciate dental school a whole lot more,” says Moore. He even worked for DCG for a year and a half as a dental assistant, which encouraged him to “hit the ground running” once he was accepted into the program.
Regarding his personal philosophy on collegiality, he has his brothers to thank. “They taught me how to work with someone who might get on your nerves,” he joked.
Moore believes it’s hard to do anything in life alone, and thus he appreciates the close-knit community at DCG. “Any time I go to a classmate and ask for help, that’s exactly what I receive. It’s very familial between classmates here: everyone is willing to put down their work to help someone else.”
In his time at DCG, two experiences best represent Moore’s journey with collegiality. For the last three years he’s served on DCG’s admissions committee, where he works as a team with other committee members to review dental school applications.
He has also received the prestigious Dorothy “Dolly” Hearn scholarship, a peer-voted award that is presented to a senior dental student who embodies professionalism, empathy and perseverance (or “PEP”).
“Winning the Dolly scholarship was probably the highlight of my dental career so far,” says Moore. “It’s a very humbling award to receive because it’s voted on by your classmates. Typically it’s a single-person award, but I’m actually sharing the award with a friend named Andrew Huber, who’s a really great guy.”
Hear more from Roberto Aragon, coordinator for Student Involvement on In the Wild podcast.
After graduation, Moore looks forward to becoming a dentist who empowers patients to make their own educated decisions about their health. He’ll move forward in this next step of life with his wife and infant daughter.
“I married my wife in May 2018 and we just had our first child, which is exciting. Being married and having a baby have further taught me the importance of collegiality and teamwork. Marriage is definitely a team effort.”
His daughter, born in September 2020, is a true testament to the teamwork, partnership and collegiality his twin James taught him all his life.
Her name is Anna James.
In the spirit of collegiality, students are encouraged to participate in Jag Tag Day beginning at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 9 in various locations across campus. Stop by any of the stations to get cupcakes, a T-shirt and other giveaways.
Students can also enjoy Multicultural Monday in the JSAC Breezeway.
Check out more stories of our Values Week honorees. These students ‘prowldly‘ represent our six core values throughout the year.
Written by
Paige Boeke
