Childhood friends are leaders at U of M dental school
Cyndee (left) and Karin in 2013 when Cyndee earned her Masters of Science in Dental Hygiene from the University of Minnesota. As a teacher, Karin attended the opening ceremony.
This story comes to us from Holstein-born Sheila McGuire Riggs, DDS, chair of the Department of Primary Dental Care at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities.
It appears that two of his college cohorts are dental school leaders – Cyndee (Crouch) Stull and Karin Quick, who grew up together in Storm Lake.
Cyndee Stull RDH, MDH, DHSc, according to a recent official announcement by Sheila, has been appointed Division Director and Program Director for Dental Hygiene.
She received her Masters in Dental Hygiene from U of M in 2013 and a PhD in Health Sciences from AT Still University in 2020.
Karin Quick, DDS, is also armed with a Ph.D. Dr. Quick is Division Director of Dental Public Health and Director of Global Programs as a Full Associate Professor in the Department of Primary Dental Care.
It’s a mouthful, but as much to say that all these women are at the top of their field.
Playtime in the 60s: “Karin was the doctor and I was the nurse!
These days, with their busy schedules, Cyndee and Karin only cross paths occasionally, but long ago they were best friends in Storm Lake.
They were born four days apart, walked to West School together in the 1960s and graduated from Storm Lake High School together.
Cyndee’s parents are Dr. Donovan and Lois Crouch, and Karin’s parents are Dr. Stan and Stephanie Quick. Both couples spend their summers in Storm Lake and their winters in Arizona.
While Dr. Crouch practiced optometry in Storm Lake for 57 years, Dr. Quick was a lifelong dentist.
“We used to live in Grand, where the Science Center is now,” Cyndee told us, “and every morning Karin, who lived a few blocks west of us, would walk to our house and then we were walking to West School together.”
Sometimes they “played doctor,” Cyndee recalls with a laugh. “Karin was the doctor and I was the nurse. Now Karin is the dentist and I am the dental hygienist! »
It seems the same goes for “playing vet”, as Karin remembers being the vet and Cyndee the assistant. “I guess I was a bit bossy,” she jokes.
Another favorite pastime was “playing in the library” and “checking books” for young children.
Today, Cyndee is married to Greg Stull (originally from Minneapolis) and they have three children.
Karin is married to Jeffry Peltola “and we have two cats”, Karin wants everyone to know.
Although the two Storm Lakers spent time in college together and before the pandemic teaching in the clinic, this new arrangement should provide more opportunities to reconnect.
Good luck, ladies, in your exciting careers!