Dentistry Personal Statement

I remember a sketch I drew based on a photo of me and some local kids in Kenya in my high school art class. I remember it as though it were yesterday, the shy faces most with mouths tightly clenched together and a few scattered smiles with crooked, stained, or missing teeth. It was a wrenchingly shocking sight that drew my attention to an individual’s mouth and the importance of oral health. An idiom comes to mind, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, and over time, the memory of this sketch cemented my interest in dentistry. By the time I had completed the drawing, my ingrained curiosity and unease turned into a “what if” moment when I pondered on how and if I could turn those toothless grins into toothy realities.

Similarly, throughout …show more content…
I am cognizant of the fact that learning is not only textual but also involves collective experience and thorough investigation. In the role of president in the student-run Department of Integrative Biology Students, I learned that leadership is a connecting act: employing a team-player mindset and guiding the club to be the bridge between students and department, like the experience I volunteered as a health interpreter as the link between patient and doctor. By joining the Berkeley Pre-Dental Society, I met many members who had no clue how to gain experience in the dental field. I helped them by running many community service sessions and sourcing internship positions with dentists to stay connected with the society’s stated goals. Seeking more involvement beyond the textbook setting, I joined a research cohort investigating dental morphologies and their impact from an anthropological standpoint. The research taught me to view teeth under a different lens and draw conclusions that were far from conventional. These pro-active activities have honed my teamwork, leadership and research skills so that I can envisage executing my tasks as a dentist for the betterment of all, within certain