Awards, Faculty and Staff

Ms. Jonelle Grant receives The Boka W. Hadzija Award from the UNC Chancellor’s Awards Committee

RWJF Dental Pipeline Scholar Award winner (2005) and fourth year dental student at UNC, Ms. Jonelle S. Grant, has been awarded the UNC Chancellor’s Award entitled the Boka W. Hadzija Award. An outstanding scholar, teacher and mentor of students in the School of Pharmacy and throughout the University for nearly three decades, Boka Hadzija has been an inspiration to generations of students. In her honor, the award recognizes the graduate or professional student who has been judged most outstanding in character, scholarship and leadership.

Ms. Grant graduated from Duke University in 2002 with a major in Cultural Anthropology and a minor in Chemistry. She served as a Residential Coordinator for Duke Youth Programs in 2002 and worked for the American Dance Festival in 2000 as an Office Assistant. Ms. Grant was recognized for her dedication as a student by the Baylor University Pre-Dental Enrichment Program in 2001. She participated in laboratory research while at Duke University, working with Dr. Richard Auten on lung diseases in newborns.

While at UNC, Jonelle has served on the Dental Foundation of North Carolina?s Board of Directors. She was the President, Vice President and also the Treasurer of the UNC Dental Student Government. She represented the student perspective as a member of the Search Committee for a new Dean of the UNC School of Dentistry. Jonelle has chaired the School of Dentistry?s Habitat Program. She is a member of the School of Dentistry?s Honor Court and volunteered regularly to work at a soup kitchen for the homeless. She has been Vice President and President of the ?Future is Now? organization, a mentoring program for African-American women. Her plans are to be a Pediatric Dental resident at UNC School of Dentistry beginning in 2006.