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Scholarships are a sought-after currency among students. Not only do they recognize academic and other achievements, but they help to cover the high costs of education. It’s not often, however, that a graduating student decides to create a scholarship even before their first day at work. But that is just what Jared Lush (DDS’24) decided to do.
 
Compassion, selflessness, and determination are the "greatest traits a dentist can possess," said Lush in his valedictory speech at the DDS class of 2024 graduation dinner in May 2024. These are traits Lush himself possesses in abundance.
 
It turns out that he had a good role model and mentor in Zohreh Erfanian (DDH’01), an independent dental hygienist and an Iranian immigrant in Gander, NL, whom Lush worked for when he was in high school. He helped with the "administrative side of running her business" and worked as a receptionist. He loved interacting with patients and the experience helped to confirm that oral health was the field for him. "It reassured me that it was a career where I could help people and be a social person," he says.
 
A gift from the heart
Erfanian always supported his aspirations, says Lush, and that support grew.  While Lush was completing his undergraduate degree in biochemistry-nutrition at Memorial University, Erfanian’s brother Ashkan – the only one of her immediate family also to live in Canada – died as the result of a chemical leak at the office in Alberta where he worked as a security guard.
 
"I saw Zohreh during that time," says Lush, "and you could see the grief and hurt she was going through."
 
When Lush began his dentistry studies in 2020, Efranian continued to encourage him. She also deposited a significant sum of money in his bank account to support his studies, something she continued to do each year of his dentistry degree. "Zohreh said she wanted to help support me through dental school," explains Lush. "She said I had helped her a lot and looked out for others. She said she wanted to do it in honour of her brother – to keep his memory alive."
 
So upon finishing his dentistry degree, Lush decided that he wanted to repay Efranian in some way.  "I was very grateful to her," he says, "but it didn’t feel right to accept the money and not do something in return." 
 
Lush considered various ways to thank Efranian for her gift, but it was his fiancée Sierra who suggested a scholarship in Ashkan Efranian’s honour. Lush took the idea to Efranian, who was both moved and in favour of it.
 
The next step was to talk to the Faculty’s development officer, Melanie Bremner, about the details of the scholarship. "I didn’t want it to be based just on academic performance," says Lush.
 
Working out the details
It was agreed that the total gift would be $7500, pledged over five years at $1500 per year. Each $1500 award will be split evenly and awarded annually, with $750 for a recipient in the Diploma of Dental Hygiene program and $750 for the recipient in the Doctor of Dental Surgery program.
 
To be considered for the award, recipients must be in good academic standing and enrolled in the final year of either the DDH or DDS program. Sounding much like Lush himself, the criteria for the award specify that the recipients "will have made an effort to cultivate a sense of community within the Faculty and are friendly, considerate, and generous to fellow students, faculty, and staff".
 
Preference will be given to recipients who are "compassionate health-care providers, exceptional communicators, and show kindness and patience to those in their care", and who "show perseverance, determination, and courage throughout their education".
 
Lush says that Efranian’s perseverance and determination as an immigrant to Canada inspired the final criterion for the scholarship.
 
In the future, Lush hopes to create an endowed fund for the scholarship. Right now, however, he is happy that his vision is taking shape quickly and that Efranian is pleased. "I think that by creating this scholarship and naming it after her brother, Zohreh and I are part of it together," says Lush. "And it gives me the opportunity to pay forward what she did for me."
 
Efranian says she is grateful to Lush and Dalhousie for creating the scholarship to honour her brother who, even though he worked as a security guard, was a teacher who believed that, as a people, we are here to share knowledge and help others to reach their full potential.
 
"To overcome the most difficult part of my life – losing my beloved brother – I had to follow his kindness and wishes," says Efranian.
 
The first Mr. Ashkan Erfanian Scholarships will be awarded at the 2025 graduation banquets. Dr. Jared Lush now works at the Cowan Heights Dental Centre in St. John’s with four Dalhousie dentistry alumni: Dr. Derrick Batten (DDS’93), Dr. Paul Lutz (DDS’90), Dr. Jon King (DDS’06), and Dr. Tricia O’ Brien (DDS’14).