Reflective Essay

Aamir Khokhar

English 101-111

Dr. Kirstein Kaschock

November 29, 2016

Reflective Essay

Coming into class this semester, a necessity, I learned was to have a clear understanding of the mechanics for literature composition. I learned that it would mature my writing to a higher level of thinking. Past experiences in my writing through English teacher feedback indicated it to be full of foibles. Often I would receive feedback on my writing being awkwardly worded or lacking fluidity. For this reason I stated on the first discussion board for this class that my main goal was for my writing to be fluid. Little did I know at that time that my notions in writing would give a glimpse for the overall purpose of this class. The exposure to readings, formal and informal writings will give the practice my writing needed and will help find my voice. Similarly to how Joan Didion puts it in her excerpt “Why I Write”, writing is an art for others to “listen to me, see it my way, [and] change your mind” (Didion). The way we communicate as an art does not come naturally as we must sculpt for growth to occur.

My personal narrative, for instance demonstrates an efficient transitional process for drafting and the importance of articulating a message. Furthermore, for my drafts I received much advice which would later be incorporated within the final piece. Concerns such as the addition of dialogue, grammar and tense issues and overall style would be explicitly answered throughout the process of revising and editing my draft. General criticism I was given about my narrative was it needed clarity by focusing on a specific event. The account of my summer experience in Pakistan such as how I felt before leaving the country to embracing the lifestyle of my relatives needed more depth, a central theme. Since my encounter of witnessing poverty first hand conveyed a powerful image, my narrative should focus on a specific event and relating that event to what I learned about myself. As a result, my main narrative highlight should revolve around my fourth and fifth paragraph which was about my motorcycle ride.

 Other notable changes I made were in the beginning of my first draft. I started my introduction by presenting a series of questions when writing about the memory. I was suggested to avoid that style since it might cause confusion and take away the readers focus. The questions themselves were “are all these issues somehow connected to a common ingredient? If so what social issues need the most attention and concern with?”  The best advice I took was to answer these questions with my descriptions and overall theme rather than answer them directly. The most difficult problem I faced while writing was that I needed to add dialogue. The way I went about trying to solve the problem was about thinking about the main message of this paper itself and finding a relevant dialogue that could perhaps connect my list of events while at the same time incorporate the main idea earlier in the story.

My final draft was to answer all concerns, as my message was to make an impact in the future. I further elaborate on having a profession dealing with such economic issues. I did however take note that my draft itself could still benefit from more improvement than the concerns I took note of.  Front door issues such as grammar, especially in punctuation is something I needed to progress on.  Other considerations which I ignored, which could perhaps strengthen my overall narrative include the idea of adding sources. I could have expanded more in my draft by comparing the lives of the rich and poor in Pakistan and possibly research why the country is in this state of poverty.

I was also able to give critical analysis through my peer responses and in return critique my own writing. In general, for my peer responses I would give similar feedback and ask questions for which I used during my interview I had with my profile. For instance, I read Joseph Cuce’s profile piece and responded by asking him to consider the following questions. “What did being a scoutmaster feel for you before Chris? How has your viewpoint changed or shift from your admiration of Chris? In what ways do you feel that Chris and you are different or very similar? How does Chris view his experience and learning through his transition to becoming a scout master?” Furthermore, I told Joseph Cuce that by adding more detail and perhaps some dialogue, it could readers a full picture of Chris and his legacy to you and others. It was at that moment, I was starting to see the importance of specificity and argument needed in a profile. This was perhaps the most difficult problem I faced while writing my profile since I already talked about my father earlier in my narrative essay. At first, in my original profile it seemed really subtle that my writing did not have a clear focus till I examined my other peers’ profile drafts.  The feedback I received revolved around this concept. I needed to focus on one aspect that made my father a successful businessman he is today.  

Despite knowing the issue first hand, I decided to another alternative my internship mentor Dr. Henkel. The reason for this was that I had more substance to work with and also since I already talked about my father earlier in my personal narrative. With the aid of Norton Field Guide to Writing” book in the section Profile there was a subsection called “A Brief Guide to Writing Profiles” which gave me insight to write about my profile, Dr. Henkel. I was given useful tips to writing about an aspiring and unique individual who influences the way I think. Specific tips such as interviewing; coming up with an angle and perhaps adding anecdotes helped established the basic foundation for my profile (Bullock).

In my profile I remember adding sensory detail of my visits to Dr. Henkel dental firm Horsham Dental Elements. The angle for which I would write about him was from my perspective as a student. In my profile I would give small anecdotes which portrayed Dr. Henkel personality and his relationship with his co- workers or patients. I would relate my mentor’s characteristics to other things I learned about him during my email interview with him.  I learned much about the start of his dental clinic, experience during his school years, goals in life and overall beliefs. All in all, this idea of peer editing and revision made me realize the more input a person put into their writing or peer response the more likely they will benefit from it.

Overall, as a whole I believe I still have much to learn. The idea that writing is a continuous process that is more than just scribbling or meshing ideas is what I should take into consideration. From the different types of writings and strategies such as understanding the argument and process of drafting helped me stay organized when it came to delivering the final piece. Things I have yet to improve on is mainly my writing style and the overall way I develop sentences. In the future I hope I can be more effective in writing as it is a necessary form of communication. As stated, writing is about painting one’s voice, which can take time.

Works Cited

Bullock, Richard. "The Norton Field Guide to Writing." 4th ed., W. W. Norton & Company;, 2016.

Didion, Joan. "Why I Write." PDF ed., 1976.

Posts for Prompts

It is through the heart felt moments and times of struggles and calamity do we feel connected to individuals. Naturally in life we tend to overlook struggles. We view them as a means of exposing rather than developing a person’s potential. This perhaps raises the question on whether the struggles we face define who we view our own self. This statement best reflects my father and his journey to immigrate to the United States.

It was during the early 90’s that my father embraced a new culture, lifestyle that suited his beliefs, despite the struggles he faced at that time. My father was still adjusting to speaking English, being much of a language barrier. Likewise, finding a job to afford a roof to sleep was much of a challenge. His current life at Pakistan at time was not much better as diseases were common along with much poverty. He had many brothers and sisters who had to work hard at a young age. My father would tell me stories about running a shop he had back home. He would work many days a week when he was not in school.

My father’s vision was to always be a business man. He viewed the United States as providing a pathway to his achieve his goals. Through many observations from owners to employees gave my father the notion that the United States truly was productive and provided plenty of opportunity. He also learned that it was necessary to learn and be willing to learn more.

  My father learned that he could control his own destiny because when he has money he can support his family back home and raise a family himself.  Before starting his own business my father would go ahead and work fulltime as a cab driver. My father would mention that he would not come home on certain days throughout the week as he would still be driving just so that our family could survive. It was till my father read an article on the New York Times about the cab medallion and its value going up really fast, faster than the stock and gold market did the idea click in his head.

My father thirteen years ago and still today feels content for starting his own cab business and would not have done any other way differently. My father at first found himself working very hard as later he had, “People who I worked for are now working me. We use to work together but right now they became my employees. I am very luck they are working for me.” This company that he formed an auto body mechanic shop, dealership and commercial insurance for taxi cabs in Philadelphia would eventually become big. The company according to my father  “basically always did something and evolved. We learned whichever field had the most opportunities and did our best”.  The company’s reputation would continue to grow despite the fierce competition against competitors such as Uber and Lyft. The company also had lots of pressure from the stock who worked for the Claim and Under Righting Department. When my father married to his wife it really had a big impact to his business success. My father described it as his luck changed due to his wife helping him during such difficult times. It was much of a team effort to consult and also agree on investments.

Key fundamentals that my father value to this day are the ideas of being trustworthy and punctuality. These characteristics are what perhaps define a very successful business person today through being reliable and providing value for customers. My father’s vision although from the past was also due to the idea that his family members also owned their own small shops. My father emphasis to me the qualities of striking a balance between having control and managing to feeling at ease.

            Another key trait my father was considers is having a good relation with your clients and employees. My father’s believed that firm management comes through having experts on the team. In other words, those who are much more smart than the manager at a particular field in the company. This will ensure the policy of being able to think outside the box for business prosperity and give room for collaboration in many fields of the business. Overall, my father’s believes to be successful and confident are drive from what keeps him motivated to this day. He enjoys his work as he never viewed it as burden since he always knew and had faith in whatever he did.

He is a confident individual. His job gives hands on work. He views his job as worthwhile. His job gives adequate free time. He has served in local clubs. His profession allows him to travel.  He chose premed in the beginning. He was influenced from a professor. He has pride in his beginnings. His toughest instructor taught him grit. Dentistry almost chose him. Dentistry provides a respected lifestyle. Dentistry merges hands on with medicine. Excellent dentists share a common characteristic. They have an attention to Detail. He has ambitious goals in life. He manages a dental business. He began practicing his dentistry alone. Specializes in dental hygiene and operatory. He formed business Horsham Dental Elements. His company an beta testing site. Accomplish much at 64 years old. Believes his life fulfill at 64. He believes expertise life long process. Has 35 years of experience. He is a one man band. He always loves to problem solve. Not just a dentist an educator. Has a passion for educating others. He has lectured students in life.  He taught and lectured many dentists. He wishes to fulfill other lives. He stresses importance of giving back. He believes to make a difference. He has genuine concern for others. Gives detailed explanation to his patients. His ideology is to share knowledge. Has a daughter with master’s degree. He has served in local clubs. He is an active community member. He has worked in rotary international.

Dr Henkel is person, who likes to help people, relieve their discomfort and see the change in his patient’s self-esteem. He would walk in the hallways with a thudded gait as he made his way to each of the patients’ room. He would often wear his green collared shirt and have his apple watch tightened on his right hand. His surgical mask would be tucked in his neck. His fairly trimmed hair was brownish and hardly noticeable. One of his homes is a place that allowed him to practice under his own name, Horsham Dental Elements. He would be ambitious in his goals and always taking leads in operations. He would always have his right hand always empty waiting for the next instrument to grip the job. He would have tools ranging from using clamps, forceps and other implant probes in dealing with surgical operations such as root canals. His frustrations would be present to many, as he put down each instrument in frustration. His tackling in fixing the patients cosmetics would be considered aggressive. He would show a much softer side of him for once his end of each project was finished. He would most participate in the “big rounds” he like to call and give a detailed summary to his patients. His way of expressing his firm stature yet humbleness was through his talk with patients. Dr. Henkel would give the best advice as possible; sometimes it would be about evaluating a better alternative for next time. Other times it would be about scheduling another appointment in a few months for a regular checkup.

Aamir Khokhar

English 101-111

Dr. Kirstein Kaschock

November 15, 2016

                                                       Dr. Henkel

It would be early on Saturday morning in which I roll out of bed to prepare for my internship at Dr. Henkel’s place, Horsham Dental Elements. Dr. Henkel acquired the dental center in 1990 after moving the suburbs in Horsham (Dr. Henkel Interview). Many patients would come to this dental clinic, sitting in the waiting lounge as they wait for their name to be announced. Each patient would be directed to the assigned room from the dental specialist.

During the procedures for dental hygiene the dental hygienist would often comment on the patient and the overall health of their teeth. “Gums look much less swollen. I barely see any plaque?” Other times they remark, “Are you flossing more regularly?” Once the polishing and cleaning was complete the dental hygienist would then mention “Wait here, he will be here in just a moment.”

Who was coming? It was the inspector, Dr. Henkel. The man was as round as a globe. He would dress in his usual green collared shirt, as he waddled down the hallway with his thudding gait. Immediately, once entering the room, he would greet his patients with his warm welcoming smile. In addition, he would sit in his swivel chair, cover his mouth with his surgical mask and then put his dental glasses to carefully examine the x-ray screens. In other words, he was now ready to get straight to the point.

Dr. Henkel however, did not limit himself to stay in a particular field in dentistry as he specialized in all major fields of dentistry including dental hygiene, surgical, orthodontics and operatory. He first began practicing under his own name in 1985. Ever since then, he has felt the need to be a contributing member and educator for students and the community (Dr. Henkel Interview).

In both surgical and operatory procedures Dr. Henkel was a one man band. Another dental specialist would be on the side handing off the different tools such as syringes for numbness of the nerve or a dental elevator. Some operations that he would do include root canals and even crown fillings or replacements. Basic dental instruments such as mouth mirror would be used for a closer peak. Other instruments such as forceps would be used to pluck out the molars for patients with wisdom teeth. His frustration in getting the molars out would cause him to show it by banging the instrument on the tray, however he would never give up and set an ambitious standard for himself. Dr. Henkel would mention in our interview, “but if one does not set high goals for oneself, how will they ever know what might have been attained” (Dr. Henkel Interview).

Throughout my time in my internship, I knew very little about Dr. Henkel and his personal life. Occasionally, through small bits of conversations he had with his co- workers and patients I would begin to learn a little more about my mentor. Often times at the end of the procedures he would begin by describing the patient’s dental cosmetics and how it compares with before or what his game plan was to keep their teeth in good shape. His precision and accuracy of explaining procedures or the current dental anatomy would make it easy for patients to seek advice and converse to the point of further discussion on alternative solutions.

Other times he tells patients some bizarre story for when he was a scuba diver. In other cases, he would mention “I’d used to travel a lot when I was a lot younger to Europe. I met lots of professors, other dentists and we discuss in our board committee about advancements, different techniques and improvements that could be made in dentistry.”

Interestingly, a passion in pursuing a dental career was at first, never under his radar. Dr. Henkel best describes dentistry as almost chasing him since the field merged his undergraduate studies as a premed major with hand on learning. In our interview he would make mention that as a child, he enjoyed assembling cars, airplanes and would build rockets. Overall, for these reasons he felt that dentistry was a perfect match for him (Dr. Henkel Interview).

As an educator Dr. Henkel was influenced from extraordinary people in his opinion who have taught him the importance in pursuing excellence. A microbiology professor from the Philippines who Dr. Henkel described very small in stature, for instance, she would give her entire lecture series over an entire semester without ever looking at a note. Another role model was Dr. Benjamin Leone, a clinical instructor at the University of Detroit who was the toughest instructor he had in dental school. Dr. Henkel described “Getting an ‘A’ from him was next to impossible. But he taught us more, made us do our work to the highest standard, than most others” (Dr. Henkel Interview).

Moreover, dentistry gives Dr. Henkel in his opinion the adequate free time to pursue other interests, including a part time job as a driver and the ability to travel to the Galapagos islands, the Caribbean, the pacific rim and other places in north America and Europe. The man is widely knowledgeable, as his travel experiences around the world has left him with great understanding of the different philosophies and techniques adopted in other areas. A general overview is that “Europe and Asian rim companies are very big in dental implantolgoly. European and Scandinavian countries have some different philosophies from what we teach in the United States” (Dr. Henkel Interview).

With the relative changes in dentistry and medicine in general, Dr. Henkel’s current hopes are to remain competitive. The growth of business Horsham Dental Elements corresponds with the firm being a current beta testing site that has new technologies that are cutting edge. More specifically, the dental firm has allowed itself to be evaluated on the success on new equipment, material that is also sent to evaluator across the country. From there the information is tabulated and published. Currently, as of now in Horsham Dental Elements Dr. Henkel has “3 different wireless headlamps, a couple different filling materials, and several different materials used for root canal treatment” (Dr. Henkel Interview).

Overall, some of Dr. Henkel’s values are similar to what he has told his daughter and countless students before, to contribute the world. He states in our interview that for when “We leave this earth; we leave it a little better place than when we entered it”. On a professional note, Dr. Henkel has a strong desire to see the satisfaction and change in self-esteem in his patients. He believes that the process patients must go through makes it worthwhile in the end (Dr. Henkel Interview).

This goes without saying that his 35 years of experience and lecturing give’s his strong belief in the idea that learning is a lifelong process. A persons schooling year, for instance, only provides the basics to succeed much like a learning permit. Dr. Henkel mentions to me that “I’ve been out of school since 1979, and I’d estimate 2/3 of what we were taught has either been found to be not correct or has been supplanted by newer techniques and technology”(Dr. Henkel Interview).

One technology, for instance, CAD/CAM Dentistry (Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing in Dentistry) is a computer technology that can help “design and manufacture different types of dental restorations.” This technology is used in advanced areas of dentistry as it provides numerous conveniences to dental offices such as Horsham Dental Elements in creating a crown, implant, bridge or any orthodontic appliance. The overall process involves the use of 3-D imaging to scan the tooth structure and have it ready within a matter of hours. This is in contrast to which the process would take weeks for dental laboratories to perform such operations (Kostrzewski DMD).

 Works Cited

Dr. Henkel. Interview. 7 Nov. 2016.

Kostrzewski DMD, Walter. "CAD/CAM Dentistry." Dental Technology. ACE Dental Education, www.acedentalresource.com/dental-procedures/dental-technology/cad-cam-dentistry/.

The buzz of my alarm

Time to go

My feet on the ground

I brush my teeth

I brush my hair

The howl of the wind

The fall of leaves

Leaves run at times

I ran to the stop sign

A yellow bus appears

I hoped on the bus

I looked out the window

I see my house

 I see leaves in houses

I see leaves on houses

I see leaves at houses

 I see leaves raked

I see the library

I see my school in front of me

I see school grounds

Students are rushing in

I learned to write letters

The sound of the bell

I learned in math

Students would rush

The bell rang

The munching of food

The bell rang

Students will rush

I need to go in library

I need to research

I learned to research

The sound of a bell

A bell to go

Buses out the window

Buses rush to the school

Students rush out

I rush out

I learned to run

Time to go home

Students appear on bus

My bus stops on stop sign

Students hop off bus

I hop off bus

A wind appears

 The wind brushes the leaves

Leaves hoped on piles

Fall time appears

Grounds need raking

I see my house out the window

My school not in front of me

I learned to not run

I learned to flow

I see mail letters

I ring my house bell

My feet in my house

I munch on food

Peer Responses ( my responses)

I really think that your memories of Chris are great, but as stated in the post above, could be expanded upon. I also agree with the above post on transitions which will make the profile seem unified as a whole rather than somewhat disruptive. I also believe that adding details will make your profile much better and can give insight to the reader, like myself to whom or what Chris looked like. Descriptions of Chris personality and characteristic’s in your first a second memory will help strengthen it. Also, I think that you should also add somewhere in your profile the answer to these questions. What did being a scoutmaster feel for you before Chris? How has your viewpoint changed or shift from your admiration of Chris? In what ways do you feel that Chris and you are different or very similar? How does Chris view his experience and learning through his transition to becoming a scout master? Did Chris have the same effect on you the way he had to others?  Overall by adding these elements, detail and perhaps even some dialogue can help give readers the full picture of Chris and his legacy to you and perhaps others.

Josh,

I also feel the same way about my mother and how she has influenced me to be the person I am today. I really like the first 2 paragraphs and felt they were perhaps the strongest part of your profile. I although found minor grammar mistakes that you might want to look over in this profile. For instance a sentence from your profile “From these two moments of major shock my mother rose from the ashes to become the person that she is today.” I would also consider answering some of these questions in your profile as well to make the profile unified to convey a message. How does your mother hardships influence the way you perceive the world around you? What can you take away from her struggle? You might also want to answer the question what made your mother want to try so many different things and what was her motivation. I would also consider adding some dialogue from your mother. This will greatly enhance your profile, as the reader will begin to understand the experiences and what they mean to your mother. Overall, I think your profile is great, but just need these elements to really connect it together to help convey how your mother impacted you.

I feel you add lots of good elements and gave a good sense of information about Elfreth’s Alley. In other words, the information you gave is a good basis for your views on your profile subject. One suggestion that I have is perhaps for your actual profile itself give historical facts about Elfreth’s Alley including the location and its original purpose compared to what it as of right now. I feel this would work especially well with the idea of communicating the uniqueness of the alley and give some insight on how much things have changed throughout history. For example, you could focus on the parallels that the alley has compared to modern day lifestyle. Another thing I really like is your sentence “Feeling the different bricks and stones, each has a distinct topography similar to a fingerprint”. I feel that you can expand on this with historical research with describing the architecture to give readers more knowledge on what this building symbolizes. In general, I feel that the way you describe the alley in your writing really conveys a good foundation for readers just stepping in and unfamiliar with your overall subject. Overall, I really like your pieces and feel that if you just dig deeper into these insights such as the specifics of what the buildings have or were and perhaps engravings in the building it would make your profile stand out.

Hi Joseph,

I read your first draft and some detail in this restricted writing definitely show that you added so much about who Chris and his personality. I feel that you could expand more on these elements in your final profile. One thing you should definitely add is the physical characteristics and mannerism of Chris. These include what did Chris wear, how did he approach difficult situations and how was he an effective leader. You could also describe more about the way Chris teaches whether as a surgeon or scoutmaster. You could mention and draw parallels to your view of Chris and how others view him. In your final draft, you could perhaps expand more on that giving more insight and detail to the way he teaches as a surgeon and overall draw parallels to your personal experience with Chris. You could also mention or highlight some qualities that make Chris an admirable scoutmaster to your overall beliefs. Another suggestion is perhaps to give information on how Chris views his own self as Scoutmaster and to his values. Overall, I really like the way you are developing your profile and it is definitely much more evident that Chris is someone you truly admire.

I found your puzzle writing to be really silly. I like the way that you incorporated dialogue and made an actual story about despite the restriction that were imposed. More specifically, I found it very interesting how you were able to vary your sentence structure fir this assignment while at the same give emphasis to the way you used words. For instance, you mention multiple times the way that the baby went ahead to go and steal your belongings in this story.  I really like the sentence “The baby had produced wrath in me, and I produced cruddy beds!” The sentence gives the reader an expectation to what will happen next within the story. I also like the way you were able to give characterization of the baby in the beginning of the story by telling he liked to produced abundant toothpaste, his habits, physical description and in general the main characters view or judgement on who he believed the baby was.  Overall, I think the way you fashioned your story was both very unique and witty as the sentence structure and the way your story was written fitted your fast paste story plot.

I found your 50 word puzzle to be very interesting and poetic. I also fashioned my story in a similar way for there to be varying mix of words. I like the way you gave emphasis to sentences that started out the same, but ended up differently, as there were different words at the end. It gives a very unique feeling to your story. I personally can connect with your restricted writing as I also employed a similar strategy of using my words to overall tell a message at the end.  I like the way you ended your writing with the same place you began it with the idea of wishing. This seems to be the main message of your piece of writing in this poem. I like the way your poem progresses with the mentioning of a few attribute about stars. In addition, the varied sentence structure makes this writing also flow smooth as it transitions from one thought of an idea to another. Overall, the way you have written this poem also makes it feel very open and messaged towards anyone since you used the word “we”.

Read/Respond

Profile: My dad

Focus: how my dad past life/experience motivated him to work hard in his business. Responded through email  

1.     If you had to describe your life in a sentence what would it be? My life is filled with happiness and joy with my friends and family that surround me.  

 2.     Tell me about the difficulties and hardships that you and your family in Pakistan had to face? The difficulties that me and my family had to face are from diseases, poverty lifestyle among the country. I have many brothers and sisters; we had to work at a young age.

3.     Tell me about the difficulties and hardships that you face in your transportation business today. My transportation business gives me problems with the insurance companies whose coverage is state minimum. The regulators who regulate the cab business they are increasing assessment fees every year, causing burden and additional rules for the cab industry. Right now we have the biggest challenge with Uber and Lyft. They are working with Uber X illegally and the department lets them work to destroy the cab company.  

 4.     What was it like to come to the United States alone with a few resources? It was challenging coming to the United States because it's a different country with a different culture so I had to adjust myself. Language barrier was a challenge. Finding jobs and getting the apartment by myself was a challenge because I was away from my house.

5.     When did you begin to see your success?  How did you know if the job was right for you?  I found myself working hard and starting my business because before I worked for someone else. Now I have experience with my business so I took advantage and became successful. I am one of the biggest owners in Philadelphia.  

6.     What lessons did you learn for your first time experience in the United States? I learned one should have a proper education. Here I also found out the owner and employees work hard. I learned that the United States is a land of properties and is the biggest economy in the world. If you work hard and invest your money in the right field you can become very successful.

 7.     What was the most impactful thing you experienced in your life? When I married to my wife it really changed my whole luck because my wife is an educated lady and helped me in my business and give me proper ideas which I really enjoyed it. And she gives me a boost. Right now I have a wonderful business and right now I am living in an upper class neighborhood.  

 8.     Can you describe a moment where you felt that your hard work was finally starting to pay off? Thirteen years ago when I started my own cab business and the prices were going up I felt my work finally started to pay off. There was an article in the New York Times said that the cab medallion went up really fast better than stock market and better than gold.

9.     In what time period in your life did you learn that coming to the United States was a good idea? As I arrived in the United States I felt that it was the best idea because I make living very well and I became a millionaire in this country.  

10.  What was your vision in life and how were you able to learn from past failures to improve your position? My vision in life was to be a very successful business man. I learned from my father who was a very successful business man. Business is in our family because most of our family members own their own business. I learned to make sure you have full control of your business and manage it properly.

11.  What new ideas for your business helped increase your hard work? To open my body shop mechanic shop car dealership and commercial insurance for the taxi cabs, basically we always do something and make new ideas trying to expand our business. In different we learned whichever field has the most opportunities we go for it and we never stop.

12.  In what ways do you hope to continue the legacy that you brought in the United States with your family? I want to pass down good education and future. I want to teach my kids and make my son in the same business as I am. I want to take my insurance business and transportation business to cab industry to airplane carrier. We also like to go to shipping.  

13.  What attributes do you believe are needed to be successful at accomplishing your goals in life?  To have a good relation with your clients and employees people is an attribute I believe people should have. Good management, honest, wise m, loyal to the customers, hardworking, and giving unlimited time to business are the attributes needed to accomplish your goals in life.

14.  Can you describe a moment where you felt under lots of pressure or felt you were lacking behind? We always had a strong competition with Uber and Lyft. Besides this we had pressure when we opened our own insurance company, we had lots of pressure from the stock who worked for us from the claim department and the under righting department.

15.  What are the things that keep you motivated to this day? My belief to be successful and confident, keeps me motivated. I enjoy working and being the owner of the business keep me motivated

16.  Where and why did you choose ideas for your business? I choose Philadelphia for my transportation business because I live here from the beginning. I noticed whoever was in this business done very good in life. Right I am one of the top guys in this business and who became successful.

17.  What do you believe are the characteristics needed to be successful? I think honesty, trustworthy, cooperative, and punctual are the characteristics needed to be successful. And treat people with a respect and trying to help them.  

18.  How were you able to manage, overcome hardships in your life to be in the position you are today? I consult with my wife and we both try to make the decision at the difficult times. And she brings the luck in my life and because agree with our investment. We are very successful today.

19.  If you had to do something differently in which you did in the past would what you do differently? I would do a commercial real estate business.  I would go ahead and try to open the construction company.  

20.  What did you learn from your early jobs and other people in life? I learned how to work hard. Also I learned to make some money and then I think I can control my destiny. Because when I have money I can live and support myself and my family. People who I worked for are now working me. We use to work together, but right now they became my employees. I am very lucky they are working for me.

Focus: How a career and passion in dentistry shape who Dr. Henkel is today.

Interviewed by email to Dr. Henkel (mentor for my internship)

Interview Questions:

1.   Who are the most influential people in your life?  Tough question to answer because as there have been so many.  The obvious of course would be my mother, wife, and daughter.  But educationally, two people really come to mind.  One was my microbiology professor, a very small in stature woman from the Philippines, who gave her entire lecture series; start to finish, over an entire semester, without ever looking at a note.  Not once. She would have been my mentor for my master’s degree had I not changed course in dental school.  The other is a clinical instructor at the Univ. of Detroit dental school, Dr. Benjamin Leone.  One of the toughest instructors we had in dental school.  Getting “A” from him was next to impossible.  But he taught us more, made us do our work to the highest standard, than most others.  

2.  What is your inspiration for doing your job? Couple of things, from a personal perspective, dentistry allows for a great lifestyle, giving adequate free time to pursue whatever it is you enjoy.  From a professional perspective, helping people, relieving their discomfort, seeing the change in self-esteem when we complete smile rehabilitation, makes it all worthwhile

3.     Why did you choose the field of dentistry? What was your vision? Interestingly, it almost chose me.  I was pursuing a pre-medical curriculum throughout my college years, and dentistry was not even on my radar.  I had no relatives in the field, as did many of my future classmates.  But I was always good with my hands, loved assembling model cars, airplanes, and building rockets as a kid.  Dentistry allows you to merge working with your hands with modern medicine.  It was a perfect fit for me.

 4.     What characteristics do you believe are necessary in your profession? Truthfully, most excellent dentists share a common characteristic, and that is attention to detail.  Most are extremely meticulous about what they do. 

5.     Tell me about a time when you found it difficult doing your profession? How were you able to overcome such hardship? Dentistry is a blend of artistry and science.  I was always good at the academics, always at the top of my class.  Artistry, not so much.  So early on in our “hands” classes, I lagged behind.  Some of the folks in my class could turn out dental restorations that were like works of art naturally.  I had to learn how to create proper shapes and contours.

 6.     What skills have you learned in your career profession? Things like running a small business and giving back to the community come to mind.  Running a dental office is like running many other small businesses.  Rent, electricity, employee salaries, insurance, etc., all have to be factored in.  I know personally two extremely competent and skilled dentists who have filed for bankruptcy because they never really learned to manage a business.  In terms of community service, because you are an educated professional, it is important to give back.  I’ve been involved with rotary international, served as president and other offices in the local club, and I also was involved with the local education foundation of our local high school, also serving a term as president.

7.     What skills have you learned during your Schooling years? Schooling years give you the basics to succeed in your profession, but do not make anyone an expert.  It is most like a learning permit.  One has to commit to a lifelong learning process.  I’ve been out of school since 1979, and I’d estimate 2/3 of what we were taught has either been found to be not correct or has been supplanted by newer techniques and technology.

 8.     Tell me about an experience during your schooling years that change the way you look at things? Probably the most impressive thing was what my mother sacrificed to allow me to get through school.  She was a simple person, high school educated only, recently divorced, but she made sure I had what I needed to get through undergrad and then through dental school.  At the time I didn’t fully appreciate what she did as she never talked about it.  it was only after looking back years later I realized I would never have made it through without her physical support (meals, supplies)  as well as financial support.

9.     Why pursue/ what was your motivation in forming Horsham Dental Elements? My original office was in center city Philadelphia.  My wife and I moved to Horsham in 1982, and entertained after a few years opening an office near our suburban home, and in 1985 we did, starting off practicing under my own name in 1985, moving to our current location in 1990 as the pine run dental and implant center, and then later as Horsham dental elements when our complex was purchased and the name changed to the elements of Horsham.  

10.  Tell me about an unusual experience you have faced in your life? Probably the worst thing ever was training for a 24 hour bicycle marathon race back in Detroit, and being run off the road intentionally by a driver and ending up with a shattered elbow and spending the weekend of the race in the hospital. 

11.  How ambitious do you believe your goals are/ were in life? I’ve always set goals very high, quite often unattainable. But if one does not set high goals for one, how will they ever know what might have been attained.

12.  What legacy do you hope to instill in being a dentist?  It is my greatest hope, that with the thousands of patients I have treated, thousands of dentists that I have taught or lecture to over the years, that in some way I have left all of their lives a little richer, a little better for the experience.

13.  What advice would you give to future students wishing to pursue in your profession?  Go for it.  Dentistry provides an excellent lifestyle, decent pay, is well respected, and provides enough free time to pursue other interests as well.  For instance, I am a diver.  Dentistry provided me the opportunity to travel the world over, going to places like the Galapagos Islands, the Caribbean, the Pacific Rim that many other professions would have not allowed me to do.  In my role as an instructor, I traveled all over North America and Europe to places I may never have seen otherwise.  Dentistry was recently listed in a survey by money magazine and U.S. News and World Report as the number one profession.  Number one was orthodontics, a dental specialty, and number 10 was oral and maxillofacial surgery, also a dental specialty 3 of the top ten.

14.  Are there any activities/events that you wish to accomplish or do in your future? I want to accomplish a lot.  At 64 years of age not sure how much I can accomplish.  There are many places in the world; I’d like to still visit.  Many technologies and treatment modalities I’d like to help shape.  I will probably continue teaching and giving back to my profession if I’m able.

15.  How do you keep up with the advancement of technology in your field? Are there any ideas that you hope to do in order to improve or expand Horsham Dental Elements? We have always been on the cutting edge.  We are a beta testing site for new technologies, and helped introduce a couple to our profession.  We are part of an evaluation team that functions like the consumer reports for dentistry.  New equipment and materials are sent to me and several other evaluators around the country are results tabulated and then published.  For instance, I have in the office currently 3 different wireless headlamps, a couple different filling materials, and several different materials used for root canal treatment.

16.  What is the oldest memory you have about yourself? Probably lying in kindergarten with 30 other kids on mats wide awake supposedly taking an afternoon nap that no one ever takes.

17.  In your opinion, what market opportunities or competitive advantages do you believe Horsham Dental Elements have over dentist firms? We have several advantages.  We have more advanced training, state of the art equipment, 35 years of experience, teaching and lecturing experience, office design and layout that most other offices just do not have.

18.  If have traveled, what experiences do you believe provided the most impact for you? Traveling lets you see different philosophies and techniques in other areas of the world.  Europe and Asian rim companies are very big in dental implantology.  European and Scandinavian countries have some different philosophies of what we teach in the United States.

19.  What characteristics do people generally associate when they think of you? Tough one to answer without sounding self-serving, but primarily I’d say that we are fair and honest, present all available options and their pros and cons, and hopefully present an aura of confidence without being pompous.

 20.  If you had a chance to go into another career field what would it be? Why? I think I would have been happy and equally successful in medicine, civil engineering, medical technology, definitely something in the sciences.  I was a biology major undergrad.

21.  How do you view yourself? What qualities do you believe you have that makes you generally a likeable person?  Hopefully we show a genuine concern for the welfare of others, and that we have their best interest at heart.

22.  What are some life lessons that you value?  What I have told my daughter, what I leave my students with, is that when we leave this earth, we leave it a little bit better place than when we entered it.  I believe to contribute something to the pool of knowledge and quality of life for those who come after us.  Make a difference in someone’s life.  In the end, material gain stays with your heirs.   

Article:

National Center for Biotechnology Information. Recent advances in imaging technologies in dentistry. By Naseem Shah et al., www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4209425/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2014.

O'Hehir, Trisha E. "New Technologies In Dental Hygiene." Registered Dental Hygientist, www.rdhmag.com/articles/print/volume-21/issue-9/columns/periodontics/new-technologies-in-dental-hygiene.html.

My thoughts on the TedTalk is that it gives good insight on the reason people chose to act at times. This can include ideologies and the way people perceive things. I for instance found it interesting that Brown states’ vulnerability is associated with negativity, such as when a person feeling shameful or afraid.  A good analogy for vulnerability is that it is like a knight going to war without a shield or maybe even with very little armor. In that scenario, a knight would most likely feel exposed or open for attack against an opponent. Another thing I found interesting in Brown’s speech is that people tend to go through a cycle of vulnerability in which they try to numb their feelings. Brown herself states that in her research she found that those who had a strong sense of love and belonging, “whole- hearted” people often believed they were worthy. Overall, Brown’s main message was the idea that there are some things that are just beyond our control and we need to make the best of what we have, when we have something. This is especially the case for once she mentions the idea of believing one is enough. Often in life we set limitations and look at the issues/problems we face on a regular basis instead of appreciating what we have.

Joan Didion reason for why she writes is because writing gives her the ability to express her ideas or thoughts in a way that can private, but also perhaps imposing. The constant message and reasoning through writing gives the writer the chance to say what he or she wants to. Didion describes the challenge she had to face as a college student when she began discovering negative connotations for her view of writing in general. Moreover, she was always thinking about limitations, including what she felt she could not do. This ultimately brings her to discover about herself as being a “writer”. A sentence that grabbed my attention was “Had my credentials been in order I would never have become a writer”. This sentence can give a clear indication to the reader that Joan Didion truly did learn something about herself whether she thinks of herself as a good or bad writer. In other words, Didion has a strong feel that her writing should be both meaningful and impactful for her to communicate. In general, she talks about looking beyond the surface which is especially present in literature. In some ways this is similar to my writing as I try to be active in searching for my writing both in a macro and micro scale. For instance, I always make sure that the word choices for my writing pieces give a clear distinction so the sentence is precise and accurate.

final draft paper

Morals to Explore

At the age of 14, I was to travel to a whole different world. I was visiting Pakistan, a country which I knew little about. Although, my father would mention, the humid and dry climate in his hometown compared to back here in the states. Memories and snippets of my father’s late night storytelling to me and my siblings would come to mind.

 “Dad can you tell me a story?” I would plead.

“What kind of story?” he asked.

I sighed “About when you were younger.”

He replied, “Aamir life back home in Pakistan was very tough for me and my family.  He continued “Me and my brothers barely had any food whenever we come back home from school.

We would come back starving and be disappointed. When we were really young, sometimes we cry because of the pain. We would cry too, whenever we get fevers or malaria as proper medication was not available. It is still like that today in some places. If I did not come here who would support my family?” he remarked.  

I could sense the firmness in his speech as he would mention the correlation of hard work and impact. I always admired my parents’ hard work; yet felt there was still something missing. I never had seen Pakistan myself.

It was not till the day I left my home in Horsham, did I begin to feel the pressure of traveling alone. Needless to say I was a bundle of nerves. Thoughts about departure only made me acknowledge my sweaty palms, as I remember taking a quick glance at my house. I remember watching my father and Uncle Khalid load the rental van with suitcases. Some were mine, my cousins and my siblings’ Amraan, Sabrina and Sameena. I was now waiting patiently as we made our way to the JFK airport.

 Moments before boarding, I sat in the departure lounge, silent among my other siblings and cousins. I remember having my head down, staring at my shoes. Was my nervousness to enter the jet bridge or was it to leave to the unknown? Despite my thoughts, the main reason to leave was to attend a wedding this summer.  

Upon my arrival to the Allama Iqbal Airport in Lahore, Pakistan I wandered my way out the airline plug door. I was now a tourist, clueless on where to go as I kept dragging my suitcase to follow my other siblings and cousins. It was till I heard the shout of my name from the “strangers” did I walk over to shake hands. They were my other uncles and their children as well, I did not recognize.

Hospitality was synonymous for greeting my relatives as I would travel and visit each of their homes. Some of my cousins’ homes in the villages were equipped with little electrical power and had about three to four rooms. One room was designated for eating, about two bedrooms and another for a living room area. We would sit on rugs in the living room area and have large gatherings and feasts of Biryani, roti and lettuce. I met cousins of varied ages in which we discussed about the lifestyle in Pakistan. Besides the harsh conditions of weather I learned some would kids would not have the opportunity to receive proper education instead would do labor work. Power shortages were also frequent as fans would stop working during the day. My other uncles and aunts living in rural conditions in the district of Vassipura were power shortages were also common.

The area of Vassipura reminded me of what I know of Brazil poor rural areas to look like: dwellings built from concrete sheet or wood. There would be various narrow alleys where I would see kids playing cricket. Large crowds would often huddle, as communities lived near each other. Fresh food always cooked and displayed as I remember the sight and smell of chicken tikka lined up in metal skewers, the sizzling of fried samosa be cooked as local customers would wait for their order. Shop fronts were also common as I would pass by milk shops, barber shops and minor marketplaces selling many household items.

On my visit, I even got to do something that I never thought I would do, ride in the backseat of a motorcycle for the first time. This was the main way to travel, as there were many storefronts and market places. One place in particular, we visited was Anarkali an enormous shopping center. Shopping for garments was the main reason to visit, as I would pass along dirt roads clustered by motorcycles rumbling in all directions to reach their destination. Often we would pass by many folks doing their daily activities to earn a living.  Some would be working outside within the scorching sun, stitching suits with an old fashioned sewing machine. Farmers herded much livestock on the roads.  Wagons were also gripped and pulled by middle aged men.

I could feel the wet sensation of sweat soak my shirt, as if I was sprayed with a water gun. Sweat dripped down my forehead and reached my neck. Yet that was nothing compared to what I later witnessed. Kids watching the hustling and bustling of vehicles among the streets as smog dispersed in the air. Large amounts of workers would be riding their motorcycles to work. Some kids’ hands were cupped together, begging as they roamed the streets, while others pretended as if they were eating. Few would even have the courage to speak up and ask.

Nevertheless, I was beginning to feel grateful for what I have. It truly was a blessing that I had the food to eat and a place to stay from my aunts and uncles. I was finally beginning to understand the hardworking mentality of my father. The value of gratitude and aspiration of hard work for higher pursuits is what I learned that the necessity to improve one’s circumstance. My willingness to work hard comes from my father’s belief and cultural values held in his home country. A question I often ask myself is how could I make a difference? Not just on a community level, but perhaps on a higher scale in order to support countries facing similar issues. Perhaps the common associated factor with such a societal issue around the world is morality. Morality of individuals can determine whom or what is from whom or what is not.

                                                                                                     

Peer Response

Your writing is very sequential but could improve with vivid descriptions that describe your night in general. For instance the transition from one event to another in your writing piece seemed a little fast paced but could improve with the help of detail and perhaps the use of dialogue that make your writing progress forward. Another thing I would suggest to improve writing is to show rather than tell. An example I can give is the sentence on watching the audience immersed by the beat. Rather than tell you could describe the audiences reaction in this case.  Also I believe that some other ways to improve your writing is to go ahead and combine some shorter sentences that you have. For instance your sentences “ I said goodbye to my friends as I quickly got up. I walked back to my dorm as fast as I could to see if my friends had already left, which they did” could be combined into one sentence with rearrangement in structure. Personally small sentences work best with narrative writing when the writer is talking about a very intense moment.  Overall, I believe that your writing does deliver and provide a satisfactory summary of our night.  

I believe that your story does encapsulate the necessary foundation of a good narrative but could use improvement. Ways that I believe that could make this narrative a very distinctive piece is by giving more visual imagery on characters and setting. For instance you could describe the attire Dr. Wall was wearing and perhaps facial expressions for the enthusiasm on the book. Another suggestion I have is the idea of showing rather than telling due to the fact when a person writes a narrative the five senses play a big role in the idea of having the reader almost experience the event. For instance you said that “Dr. Wall captures everyone’s attention as she shares her comments about the novel”. A way to make the writing more appealing is by describing the comments or the audience’s reaction to Dr. Wall talking about the novel. Another thing I would like to add to improve your writing is the idea of dialogue not feel stand alone. I am not saying they don’t fit in the context of this particular piece but emphasis on detail will help make dialogue flow easier. Overall I believe you did a good job describing your night. Just a little more detail and reflection would make the transition of your writing flow.

 Hi Matthew,

Your literacy narrative definitely qualifies as being a well told story as you explore the role of how the book The Stranger by Albert Camus played a role in your belief. I also like how you were able to give vivid detail by incorporating quotes. This in my opinion served a good way to have the reader like myself to get a better context on what type of book it is including its tone, character development and style. I also like how you were able to reflect upon you connection to the character of the book Meursault. Some alternative that I might consider doing if subjected to revise is to consider adding specific detail about church in the beginning part of your narrative. This could maybe enhance and give a really intriguing unexpected hook to help readers dive in to your writing. Another suggestion I have is to show rather tell about your experience being in the Roman Catholic faith in the beginning part of your draft. This could also give some indication of the significance on your belief. Otherwise I really like how you came full circle in this piece from writing about your belief in the beginning and addressing your feeling after you describe your origins.  It was really interesting to read about.

Hi, Adam
I really enjoy your memoir about yourself and our interests in sports. It is really cool to know that your aspiration for tennis, connected relationship with your coach along with family and friends is what you are thankful for to helping be over here at Drexel University. I like how you were able to reflect about your natural progression as an athlete in your writing piece. A recommendation I would give is to add figurative language. In my opinion it would work well with your style of writing, especially imagery or personification. Another thing I would like to recommend is to slow the pace of certain moments in your memoir. This affect itself give you the opportunity to build increase tension that will ultimately make your writing feel more memorable. This would work best for the championship team tournament part. One last recommendation is to give more characterization to Roy Camara de Freitas since you said that it made your team more dangerous. How so? What was the teams playing style before becoming better? Overall, I really enjoyed your writing, it really made me reflect upon why do I do the things I do and those who supported me and helped me get to Drexel university.

I also found your essay to be really descriptive and contain much sensory detail. I liked the sentence” The energy of the club seeped through my skin and into my veins”. This really showed that great anticipation that you had to be able to attend to this event. In terms of grammar, I also found in your essay to have few placement comma errors. In general, I found your essay easy to follow but feel that emphasis should be placed in areas that needed it.  For instance in terms of finding out how this event relates to your past, mentioning on listening to this DJ before definitely qualifies but it needs more emphasis and detail to fully answer the prompt of this essay. You could also perhaps give some background information on whether or not you have been to a concert before. Something I feel that you should answer in this draft including the difference between listening and seeing a live performance of the DJ. I feel like this should also be mentioned somewhere near your conclusion. By answering these questions this would your writing more impactful. Also as a side note you might want to break up your writing into paragraphs.

I found your essay really enjoyable to read as I myself recognized some of the descriptions you recorded about your visit over to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I found that incorporating the time about you and your aunt in Europe to the parlor rooms was very impactful to the essay as whole. In terms of writing I feel that your essay flows very nicely as you were able to give a nice transition between the exhibits you saw. For instance, the sentence “It was filled to the brim with various types of medieval armor and weaponry from all across Europe”. Some feedback I might suggest in this particular assignment is to give visual like description of what you saw. This includes relating any shapes, colors, different painting, and furniture in a way that has much more imagery to a given reader of your essay. I believe that would enhance the piece and make it very unique and memorable. In terms of grammar or mechanics I did not see any errors at all. Overall, I like the way you concluded your essay in that you were able to give insight from your past experience and also your brief time at the art museum.