As a graduate of the dental hygiene program, Susan Keating-Bekkers (DipDH’91) is helping make it possible for someone to attain an education in dental hygiene who otherwise might not be able to.

The Dalhousie School of Dental Hygiene is “a special place” to Susan; she has great respect for the school’s faculty members. She has been an instructor there herself for 11 years, working with students in Dalhousie’s dental clinic and enjoys teaching – and learning from – the students and sharing her enthusiasm for the profession in which she has happily worked for 21 years.

Now Susan is fostering student learning in a new way with the establishment of the Keating-Bekkers Award in Dental Hygiene. It will provide support to a student with financial need who is entering second year and shows “exceptional promise, outstanding attributes and interest in the profession of dental hygiene.”

Susan trusts that the award will have just such an impact. “I hope it draws some bright student who may not have been able to go into dental hygiene or it may attract some bright student who may not have even thought about taking that pathway.”

Philanthropy comes naturally to Susan. Her parents, Charles and Marilyn Keating, instilled in their children the importance of giving back. “From the time I was probably eight years old I was always doing little things,” she says. “And really that’s what makes me happy today….I think that’s what puts the biggest smile on my face – just making a difference.”