Current Students

Open All | Close All

• Class of ’24: Helping create a healthier community is her goal

  Thursday May 02, 2024
  

  

  Each year, University of Detroit Mercy’s Marketing & Communications department profiles members of the graduating classes. Students chosen were nominated by staff and faculty for their contributions to the life of the University. Click here for more information about 2024 commencement exercises.

  Afsana Uddin has been attending classes at University of Detroit Mercy since 2012.

  “I’ve grown up here,” she joked.

  This year, she will graduate with a doctorate in Nursing Practice, after having earned a bachelor’s degree in Nursing and a graduate degree in Family Nurse Practitioner.

  Uddin’s parents emigrated to the United States from Bangladesh and didn’t have a high school education. She is the third of their three children to receive an advanced degree and their first to receive a doctorate. She followed her two sisters to Detroit Mercy, where her nephews are also students.

  “There were so many factors as to why I chose Detroit Mercy,” said the native of northwest Detroit. “I liked the closeness, I loved that we’re embedded in the city of Detroit, I like the small campus because we have access to professors and other resources to help us.”

  But it was the service learning programs that truly inspired her. Her participation in the Fresh Incentive program helped her see that good health starts long before a person needs a doctor.

  “When you work in the community, you get to see and be exposed to things you didn’t know about and that can affect a person’s health,” Uddin said. “And it meant a lot that we were working right in the Fitzgerald neighborhood.”

  Fresh Incentives began at Eastern Market and delivered fresh fruits and vegetables to people in Detroit neighborhoods who don’t have ready access to healthy foods. Funding through the Ford Community Corps Foundation paid to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables expand the program to the Fitzgerald neighborhood.

  Access to food and education on taking care of your health are the two largest barriers to eating well.

  “Going into this, we thought that access to food would be a major deterrent,” Uddin said for a story about the early days of the program. “We are learning that education is a big part of that as well.”

  She expanded the work for her doctoral studies, introducing physical activity modules to get people moving. It was the first project where students entered the homes of the people they serve and it was eye-opening to her.

  The results were very positive. People lost weight, which led to benefits like lower blood pressure and the ability to exercise more. Working in homes led to connections and students, led by Uddin, expanded goals to decreasing intake of soda and salty snacks. They created a map of the many farmers markets nearby so people knew where to go to get fresh food.

  “There were positive outcomes on so many different levels,” she said. “It is a really important program.”

  Uddin hopes to introduce the model to the home care company she has worked at for two years.

  When not in class as a student, Uddin serves as an adjunct professor in the College of Health Professions.

  Her passion for spreading the word about healthy eating to populations that don’t have that history has been a very welcome surprise.

  “I originally had no plans about doing something like this,” she said. “But I’m so glad it found me.”

  — By Ron Bernas. Follow Detroit Mercy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Have a story idea? Let us know by submitting your idea.

• Class of ’24: Dental grad says faith, ‘random angels’ led her way

  Thursday May 02, 2024
  

  

  

  Each year, University of Detroit Mercy’s Marketing & Communications department profiles members of the graduating classes. Students chosen were nominated by staff and faculty for their contributions to the life of the University. Click here for more information about 2024 commencement exercises.

  Maria Latorre Sanchez came to Detroit to follow her dream of becoming a dentist. In addition, she found a close-knit community that supported her during the hardest time of her life and helped her to dream bigger.

  Latorre Sanchez earned an undergraduate degree in Florida before applying to dental schools. She didn’t know much about Detroit or Detroit Mercy’s School of Dentistry, but the word from friends was positive and a visit here in which current dental students meet potential students helped her make Detroit Mercy her top choice.

  She threw herself into her studies and all the extracurriculars that come with Detroit Mercy Dental. She was a member of the Student-Alumni Leadership Council, attended symposia and volunteered with community service. A native of Colombia, Latorre Sanchez has been president of the Hispanic Dental Student Association since 2021 and she directed her outreach through the Ford Community Corps and Student Leadership program on helping the local Hispanic population. She was an ambassador with La Casa Guadalupana, working to reduce language barriers to dental patients.

  In her third year, which is when students begin working with patients in the clinic, Latorre Sanchez brought her father from Colombia to the school.

  “I wanted to work on my father,” she said. “My family didn’t have a lot of dental care and he had lost most of his teeth. I wanted to be the one to fit him with dentures.”

  While visiting Detroit to start the treatment, he told his daughter he was not feeling himself. He was dealing with depression that was brought on and exacerbated by early stages of dementia. She turned to faculty members for advice. Eventually she had to ask her brother to move in with their father, which he willingly did.

  “He was the best dad, and my brother was the best son and brother,” she said.

  One day, she received a call from her mother, who lived in Florida. She was worried because she hadn’t heard from Latorre Sanchez’s father or brother and could not reach them by phone.

  Agonizing hours trying to reach them ended with her aunt breaking into his house in Colombia and finding both dead.

  “I left school immediately,” she remembered. “It was terrible, terrible.”

  When Latorre Sanchez returned to school two weeks later, she said she was greeted with “the biggest support system ever.”

  Faculty and staff would collect her when they found her alone, sobbing, and take her to their offices where they would let her cry or talk or just sit there. They helped her understand the disease of depression. One emailed her a prayer every day.

  “My classmates did not leave me for a minute. They guided me through this time, took me to Mass, helped me with the work I missed,” she said. “This went on for a long time.”

  And God was watching out for her, she says. “God took my father and brother at this time and only God knows why. But there were random angels all around who helped me out.”

  Slowly, through her faith, studies and Detroit Mercy Dental support system, the grief became less raw. She found that she felt great joy helping patients in clinic by fitting them with dentures.

  “When you tell a patient they are going to lose all their teeth, it’s like grief,” she said. “They feel they are losing something of themselves. But when you fit them with dentures, they have this smile that is so rewarding. I was never able to provide the dentures for my dad, but I am able to help others.”

  Detroit Mercy provided Latorre Sanchez an opportunity to help the local Hispanic community even more when a faculty member asked her if she would help create a dental clinic at the St. Francis Cabrini Clinic. She jumped at the chance to help the mostly Hispanic patients who would come to the clinic for other healthcare needs.

  “They knew that is what I love, so I said yes,” she said.

  The logistics of starting a clinic from scratch are daunting, but with help from faculty and lots of volunteers, it opened in 2022. They offered cleanings, extractions and fillings one Saturday a month. Bigger issues would be referred to the Dental Clinic. It has expanded its hours since.

  She created a pamphlet so English-speaking dental students learned enough words to conduct a thorough exam with a Spanish-only speaking patient.

  “It’s important that both the patients and the clinicians feel comfortable,” she said.

  The new graduate is not done with Detroit Mercy Dental yet, though. She is thrilled to have received a three-year periodontal residency. She jokes: “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

  That Latorre Sanchez is able to laugh after such a tragedy she credits to her faith. She shares her story because she hopes other people draw strength from her.

  “I see people who get very upset that they didn’t pass a test or something like that and I hope that if telling my story helps others understand that they can get through bad times,” Latorre Sanchez said. “It’s not about what happens to you, it’s about how fast you get up.”

  — By Ron Bernas. Follow Detroit Mercy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Have a story idea? Let us know by submitting your idea.

• Job opportunity: Work in Office of Admissions this summer

  Wednesday May 01, 2024
  

  

  Detroit Mercy’s Office of Admissions has two positions available for the summer: Tour Guides and Welcome Desk Associates.

  For more information or to apply, please email Darrius Hicks at hicksdm5@udmercy.edu.

  

• Earn $40 through Detroit Mercy’s mental health study

  Wednesday May 01, 2024
  

  Detroit Mercy students, staff and faculty can earn $40 through a mental health study at the University. The Department of Psychology is looking for participants for the study.

  To qualify, you must be 18 or older, have experienced a traumatic event and have the ability to complete questionnaires and interview about current mental health symptoms in English. Each in-person appointment will take approximately 60-90 minutes.

  Participants will be asked to fill out a few self-report questionnaires relating to traumatic experiences, relationships, emotions and coping. They’ll also be asked to participate in a confidential videotaped clinical interview regarding traumatic experiences.

  The study will use the information to help clinicians diagnose trauma-related conditions and design better programs for people who have experienced traumatic events.

  Please call 313-993-1486 or email Katelyn Lowe at loweke@udmercy.edu with any questions or to see if you may quality for the study.

• Summer hours for URec, Student Fitness Center begins April 29

  Friday April 26, 2024
  

  

  Summer hours for University Recreation and the Student Fitness Center starts Monday, April 29.

  The center will be open Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. through 8 p.m. each day and will be closed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

  For more information and updates, please follow @DetroitMercyRec on Instagram or contact the front desk at 313-993-1783.

• CCPD boot camp helps seniors transition to their new careers, April 29

  Thursday April 25, 2024
  

  

  Center for Career & Professional Development invites all graduating seniors to attend the Senior Job Search Boot Camp from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, April 29 inside the Student Union, Room 208.

  Once finals are over on the McNichols Campus, soon-to-be graduates are encouraged to take the time to fine tune their job search plans. The CCPD wants to help graduates transition from the classroom to their new careers. Lunch will be served after the event.

  Graduating seniors will:

  • Gain valuable advice from recruiters
  • Learn how to develop their personal brand
  • Explore the competencies that will make them career ready
  • Create an effective LinkedIn profile
  • Create a job search action plan
  • Get a free professional photo taken (Must pre-register)

  This event is designed to imitate the fast-pace of a boot camp, sessions will last 20 minutes each. Participants will have the opportunity to network with professionals from the Detroit Regional Partnership, Superior Industries and Plastipak.

  Pre-registration through Handshake.

  

• Offer feedback for UDM’s 2024 Strategic Plan

  Thursday April 25, 2024
  

  

  Detroit Mercy community, UDM’s 2024 Strategic Plan is here and the University is offering in-person opportunities for you to provide feedback on the plan and its associated initiatives!

  These sessions will provide you with an overview of the planning process, introduce you to the two teams behind the plan — A Beacon of Change and For Titans and Detroit — and offer you the opportunity to ask questions and share feedback.

  Opportunities are being provided at the McNichols, Corktown and Riverfront campuses to discuss initiatives in person with members of the Strategic Planning Council at the following dates:

  • Riverfront Campus — April 23, 1:30-5 p.m., Law School Atrium
  • McNichols Campus — April 24, 12-1:30 p.m., Fountain Lounge, Student Union
  • McNichols Campus — April 25, 12-1:30 p.m., Library lobby
  • Corktown Campus — April 26, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Special Functions Room

  UDM is encouraging all employees and students to participate in these opportunities to learn about the Strategic Plan. We look forward to your input!

  The plan was crafted by the Strategic Planning Council after careful consideration from the University community and key stakeholders. It’s a mission-driven plan that addresses many facets of university life, including students, faculty, administrators, alumni and our wider community.

  Provide feedback on Strategic Plan!

• RSVP for Commencement ceremonies by April 26

  Wednesday April 24, 2024
  

  

  Graduating Class of 2024, we are looking forward to celebrating you during commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 11!

  RSVP (deadline is Friday, April 26) is required to attend the ceremonies. Please visit udmercy.edu/commencement for more information!

  The two McNichols Campus ceremonies this year are:

  • Undergraduate (Bachelor) ceremony — 11 a.m.
  • Graduate (Master, Specialist, Doctoral) ceremony — 4 p.m.

  Full Commencement info!

  

• Class Gift Committee looking for Class of 2025 members

  Wednesday April 24, 2024
  

  

  The Class Gift Committee is looking for students graduating in the Class of 2025 to join the committee. Every year, the graduating class chooses something at the University to support through a fundraising effort from their class.

  Volunteer committee members will:

  • Attend Class Gift monthly meetings throughout the year
  • Determine a Class Gift project/program to be funded and goal
  • Determine the strategy for reaching the goal
  • Recruit classmates to join as committee volunteers
  • Staff a table at campus events to encourage donations to the Class Gift
  • Collaborate with Annual Giving staff throughout the year
  • Demonstrate personal commitment to the Class Gift project by making your own gift of any amount early in the year
  • Solicit classmates to join you as Class Gift donors

  For an application to become a Class Gift Committee member, please contact Jackie Elliott at elliottjm@udmercy.edu.

• Senior send-off event celebrates Class of 2024 on April 25

  Monday April 22, 2024
  

  

  Prospective graduating seniors, it’s time to take a break from studying for the event of the year! UDM will host a Senior Send-off for the Class of 2024 on Thursday, April 25 at 4 p.m.

  It’s free for all graduating seniors to attend, but please register in advance!

  This new Senior Send-off event, in addition to the upcoming Destress Fest, will give graduating seniors the opportunity to celebrate the end of the 2023-24 school year, bid farewell to your undergraduate journey and celebrate with friends before moving into the new chapters of life!

  The event features:

  • Champagne toast with the president
  • Free Class of 2024 champagne glass
  • Free food, featuring an exclusive buffet which chicken and vegan options
  • Dessert bar
  • Mocktail bar — Margaritas and strawberry daiquiris
  • Cash only bar — Beer and wine
  • Graduating cap decorating
  • Photo booth

  The event is being hosted by the Student Alumni Leadership Council, Alumni Relations and the Student Life Office. With any questions, please contact Sonya Reyna at reynasv@udmercy.edu.

  Register now!