How This Year Has Changed Me...

Let’s hear it from our D1s and D2s!

Jack Sun, D1 “After a challenging first semester of dental school, I have grown both intellectually and personally. In the beginning, I questioned the effectiveness of a modular system and thought it was going to be a cram fest, but now I have more trust in the system, although it is still a cram fest, after realizing how much knowledge I garnered and retained through such a short period of time. Of course, I have to credit my classmates for being a huge influence to my success in and out of the classroom. They always encouraged me to strive for excellence and brought out the discipline and focus in me that I did not even know I possessed. Having an ethnically diverse class filled with loving individuals also allowed me to learn so much about people and culture. Fruits of your own labor are often the sweetest. Seeing results after investing countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears in my studies made me more confident in my ability to perform at a higher educational level and stopped me from doubting myself, especially since getting into dental school was once a dream far out of reach. Furthermore, spending an immense amount of time in a sea of grey scrubs definitely had some psychological effects on how I perceive color and fashion. Recently I find myself drawn more toward grey and other muted colors when I go shopping. Lastly, dental school has made me a better person than I was yesterday and I look forward to the upcoming semesters and will embrace the positive changes in store for me.”

Hanna Kingsley, D1 “D1 year certainly has certainly been an exhausting, fun, and stressful roller coaster so far! I have never studied and partied so much within the same time frame to be completely honest. But I have never so quickly bonded with such an incredible group of people, and is it this fact that has been the most valuable part of school for me thus far. It has made me a more interested, more caring, and a more involved person in the lives of everyone who surrounds me. We all understand what the other is gong through no matter what the situation is and I have full confidence that we will all get through these difficult yet awesome four years together!”

Kristine Angeles, D2 “I first fell in love with dentistry when I handed a patient his finished dentures that instantly improved his self-esteem, phonetics, and features within seconds. This year, I reaffirmed my passion for dentistry as our curriculum’s emphasis transitioned from didactic to clinical, giving me the opportunity to learn the intricacies of Pharmacology that can be applied to our medically complex patients, in addition to Removable Partial Dentures that help me visualize the many denture designs that can be created for patients in our community. Beyond the classroom, ASDOH gave me the opporunity to develop professionally as Vice Pesident of the Class of 2019 and Community Service Chair of the Special Care Dental Association. These opportunities helped me hone my leadership skills, and allowed me to foster camaraderie among a network of faculty and students that is integral as a future dental professional.”

Dani Matter, D2 “Dental school has been the hardest, most rewarding experience of my life. It has pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me every single day. Many times when I told myself there was no way I could do something I was able to push through and be pleasantly surprised at how I can accomplish anything I set my mind to! My confidence has grown so much in this last year, confidence in everything we have learned and my hand skills. I can’t wait to see how much more I continue to grow over the next two years.”