Day in the Life of Disha Nagpal

About

I am currently in my 2nd year of the Periodontology Graduate Program. My favourite thing about Grad School is that it is more skills-based and hands-on. It gives me freedom and creativity in both my research as well as the clinics, thus, making this process of self-development more enjoyable.

For my research, I am working under the supervision of Dr. Ida Kornerup and Dr. Monica Gibson on a project that can positively contribute to undergraduate pediatric dentistry and periodontics curriculum. This study is so interesting that recently, I won first place in Grad Student Research Day (pleasantly surprised and grateful!). I look forward to the outcomes of my research.

You may not know...

I have been an avid Mathematics lover and was the winner of the Indian National Mathematical Olympiad in 2004.

Ice cream dreams

When I was in Kindergarten, I wanted to be an ice cream man until I discovered that ice cream sellers do not eat all the ice creams themselves. A dream detour happened then. (Thankfully!)

During my high school years, biology always fascinated me (thanks to my awesome science teacher), so I decided to pursue a career in health sciences.

My maternal aunt is a dentist and staying with her, going to her clinic during my summer break was a kind of a ritual while I was growing up. I was so impressed by her interaction with the patients and how thankful they were that I planned to become a Dentist like her. Luckily, my family fuelled my dreams all along.

Healthy eats and Punjabi beats

Since 2020 brought us this uninvited twist, I have started to eat healthy food (no more to-go!) and meditating regularly. In this time, I had been a bit adventurous in grooving up to the beats of Punjabi music. Learning it from my husband who is a pro, has made it super fun and a great stress buster for us. This has been such a ‘Eureka’ moment for me to discover and develop a new aspect of my personality. I want to make these things a part of my ‘new normal’.

Favourite media

My favourite book of all times is ‘The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma. I love reading his books and listening to his podcasts. These days, the song on repeat is Photograph by Ed Sheeran.

Values

During the past few months, I like anyone else has changed a lot. Though I miss clinics and interaction with our wonderful patients and clinical instructors, I got some time to focus on the part that was missed before like talking to the old buddies, watching the sunset, arrange my closet( most needful area!). This time has made me value more the things we took for granted earlier like the hugs, hanging out with friends and family, actual shopping, and not online (my favourite part!)

I am sure when this gets back to normal, I will never complain of missing my early morning sleep and the commute.