University of Maryland Baltimore Dental School - Mirror Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

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In, ifrattk t. itUniait |ENTLEMEN of the faculty, fellow classmates, ladies and gen- tlemen : {%5! l! From the day of our entrance upon our college course, un- ' 1 til now, we have been propelled by the same force and guided by the same rudder. For three years the Class of 1908 has looked forward with much earn- est ambition to this day, in which we step from the hard work of student life into the cares and responsibilities of the profession of dentistry. We have pictured this day as the day when we would take our places in the world as men learned in a profession, and the heartfelt buoyancy of the moment seems to exclude a thought of the sterner responsibilities of those duties, which from now we must face. Very soon we must realize that we can no longer lean upon the resourceful minds of our professors and in- structors, for he who goes out in life armed with the equipment of knowl- edge gained in his collegiate career, must strain every energy in the battle of life if success is to be achieved. Success is the bright star on the horizon of the future. This is our goal. How are we to attain it? Genius has been defined as an extraordinary capacity for work. Who has not wondered at the great achievement of someone known to us, who at no time displayed anything above ordinary talent and yet reached the pinnacle of success through the sheer force of incessant work. Work is the wealth of the human race. It creates, it infuses the breath of life into chaos. The greatest minds the world has produced have preached the doctrine of work; without it, great talent atropies. Those who have been endowed for wonderful performances, with what we call a natural aptitude, accomplish nothing without work. They languish in an unpro- ductiveness and their great talents are as sterile as the soil of the dessert. Another quality necessary for success and the full measure of its rewards, is integrity — an integrity of purpose which makes for the higher life. Just as work creates and advances our aim so does it yield its proper and full enjoyment only when conjoined to an integrity of purpose. Men may reach the sphere of success, reap its material rewards, but cannot find 18

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THE MIRROR l ects for usefulness brighter than ever. It has added to its faculty and clinical corps strong and active men, and is better equipped to carry out the purpose of its inception than at any period of its existence. Over twenty-five hundred graduates have gone from this College into practice, and these are scattered all over the civilized world. They are located in nearly every city of Europe. They lead the profession in all the great centers of civilization and have won eminence in England, France, Russia, Switzerland, Spain and Italy. They have carried the honors of the institution into Asia, Australia, and the land of the pyramids, while in every State of our Republic, and in all parts of Canada they have demonstrated their own worth and the excellent training afforded them by their Alma Mater. They have met with signal honor abroad, nearly every court den- tist in Europe being a graduate of this institution. Such in brief is the history of our dear old College, our beloved Alma Mater, where we are now seeking a training which will not only bring dis- tinction to, and benefit us personally, but which shall instil nobler ideas into our minds, and so broaden our characters, that we may become better citizens, and better able to fill our allotted place in life, whatever it may be. And may we ever prove an honor to the calling in which we are about to engage, and to our best friend, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery.

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THE MIRROR that peace of mind, so necessary to contentment, (the greatest blessing of all) if their life work lacks in integrity. To be imbued with an honest purpose even though we may not find our reward great in material aspects, we are assured a mental calm, a content- ment, of all rewards, the greatest. an tlir iFarulttt: Honored and esteemed gentlemen of the faculty : You, who through our worthy dean, have this day conferred upon us the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery, will find each one of the class of 1908 filled with a spirit of loyalty to his Alma Mater. Her high reputation and proud position, as the oldest dental college in the world, attracted us from all parts of this and other countries, and it is our purpose to the best of of our endeavor throughout our professional lives, to add to her honor and fame. For what you have done for us while we were students in your classes we are deeply grateful; we thank you for your forbearance, kindness, af- fection, which you manifested toward each and all of us. We thank you for the patience, often tried and never exhausted, which saved you to us as friends through all the trials of our college life. Dear classmates: Tonight we assemble as a student body for the last time. The close bonds of intimacy and companionship are about to be severed. Into widely distant fields do the purpose of our lives call us; we scarcely can look to a future, when a roll call of the class of 1908 will not reveal an extended list of ab- sentees. Three years ago we assembled as strangers, but constant association with each other soon ripened into friendship and love; ' til now, as we look back upon our past career, the pranks, the joys, the trials, the mistakes, the achievements, all form a picture that, as time passes by, will in the mellowing light of distance be an unfailing source of pleasure. From now on we must separate to take our places in the world, to prac- tice the profession we all honor. We may have some failures at first, but to fail and profit in knowledge thereby, and by the exercise of patience, persistence and honesty of purpose, will finally lead to the highest place in our profession, and an honorable position in society. Let us always live true to the high standard inculcated by our Alma Mater, and demanded by the ethics of our profession, never forgetting the motto of our class, Suceedere Nostri Ambitio — our ambition is to succeed. Farewell.