Reflections

Hometown:
Manassas, Virginia

Undergraduate school/degree:
University of Virginia –Systems and Information Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
Growing up in a military family, I gained an appreciation for travel early on. I am open-minded, inclusive, and inquisitive with a profound appreciation for my home: Virginia. With an engineer’s attention to detail, I approach dentistry with the passion and fastidiousness of an artisan.

Why are you passionate about dentistry?
Dentistry has allowed me to apply my professional and technical skills to heal and educate my community. This past year, I used my engineering skills to develop a new dental innovation aimed to protect dental professionals from bur sticks. My project won 1st place at the annual VCU research day.

Hometown:
Manassas, Virginia

Undergraduate school/degree:
University of Virginia –Systems and Information Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
Growing up in a military family, I gained an appreciation for travel early on. I am open-minded, inclusive, and inquisitive with a profound appreciation for my home: Virginia. With an engineer’s attention to detail, I approach dentistry with the passion and fastidiousness of an artisan.

Why are you passionate about dentistry?
Dentistry has allowed me to apply my professional and technical skills to heal and educate my community. This past year, I used my engineering skills to develop a new dental innovation aimed to protect dental professionals from bur sticks. My project won 1st place at the annual VCU research day.

Hometown:
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Undergraduate school/degree:
James Madison University –Health Science and Biology

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I am a happy, energetic, and active 24 year old. I am the youngest of 3 children. Both my father and sister are dentists and my brother a recent grad from dental school. I was born and raised in Virginia Beach. I then continued my education at JMU with a scholarship playing Varsity Field Hockey.

Why are you passionate about dentistry?
My passion for dentistry goes back to an early age, everything about the profession was intriguing. I was the one washing my hands, grabbing a Kleenex, and sneaking into the coat closet to pull my classmates' baby teeth. Dentistry has always been a dream, and people have always been my passion.

Hometown:
Midlothian, Virginia

Undergraduate school/degree:
VCU–Biology

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I am not married, and I have a very energetic labrador at home. During my spare time, I enjoy trying new foods and visiting new places. I also found a new hobby this year, baking! My favorite thing to bake is a classic NY cheesecake. I enjoy taking long walks to destress; I find it very comforting.

Why are you passionate about dentistry?
Dentistry is unlike any other profession. It is very social, educational, interactive, and hands on. I love the feeling when my patient's are excited and happy about their new smile or even just achieving oral health. It's great to see how much confidence my patient's can gain through dentistry.

Hometown:
Midlothian, Virginia

Undergraduate school/degree:
VCU–Biology

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I am single; I was born in Michigan but lived most of my life in Richmond, VA. I am an adventurous eater and love trying out new foods. During my spare time, I like sight seeing and people watching. I hope to one day learn how to knit and carve furniture.

Why are you passionate about dentistry?
Dentistry is very dynamic. Next week will be my first week seeing patients full time. I am very excited and nervous. I also feel the weight of professionalism. As I made phone calls to my patients today, it gave a warm feeling inside that patients are willing to give me their time and resources.

Hometown:

Undergraduate school/degree:

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

Why are you passionate about dentistry?

Hometown:
Silver Spring, Maryland

Undergraduate school/degree:
University of Maryland, College Park–B.A in History and B.S. in General Biology

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I'm a Chinese-Vietnamese immigrant who came to the U.S in 2002. I enjoy reading history books, swimming and riding my bicycle in my spare time.

Why are you passionate about dentistry?
Coming from a developing country, many of my family members suffered from poor dental health, severely impacting their quality of life. Because of this I feel it very close to home when, on Mission of Mercy trips to various rural areas of Virginia, I see patients in their 20s losing all their teeth.