Mentorship, Hands-on Experience for Minority Students in Summer Program

From left, Alexandra Burgos, Stephen Alexander-Awad and Mariah Flynn.

Pre-dental student Mariah Flynn knows that some people view her ethnicity as a drawback. “I have to be better than this person or that person to break whatever stereotypes they may or may not have,’’ says Flynn, who is African American.

In the annual Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP), dental school leaders told Flynn that her experiences and perspective as a black student are considered a strength. “They embrace the fact that we’re all different and everyone has something of their own to offer,’’ she says.

Flynn, a biology major at Hampton University in Virginia, was one of more than 20 aspiring dental and medical students to arrive at the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) for the month-long SMDEP experience. Like other students in the program, she had been considering a career in dentistry, and after learning more about the profession, is now sure that it's the right choice for her.

The national program — started by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to boost medical and dental school enrollment among minorities — is held annually for rising college sophomores and juniors to support their plans for careers in medicine and dentistry. Started in 1989, it combines lessons on research, science and public health with an intro to clinical basics, like making wax impressions.

An important aspect of the program is connecting minority students with potential role models: minority faculty, staff and current dental students who can give them advice and encouragement they might not get from others.

Some students, like Alexandra Burgos, a Rutgers-New Brunswick biology major, are the first members of their family to  attend college and grew up in communities where few students have the resources or support to pursue higher education. “You’re not always sure you’re doing the right thing. But meeting people here who encouraged me makes me feel that everything I’ve done has paid off, and if I continue to work hard, this is where I want to be,’’ she says.

Stephen Alexander-Awad a biochemistry major at Hunter College, is Egyptian. He knew he wanted to pursue a healthcare career but the SMDEP program convinced him that the dental profession was a good fit.  “This program gave me a view of both walks of life, medical school and dental school. When we went to the ER, I knew that wasn’t right for me. It’s life or death, and that seemed very stressful. When it comes to dentistry, there’s more of a positive outlook and more positive experiences with patients,'' explains Alexander-Awad.

Burgos, who has an art background, wanted the variety of seeing many different patients in one day and opportunities to be creative. “I’m an artsy person. I wouldn’t want to go into the arts. But I want to be able to make things,'' she says.

Both Burgos and Flynn hope to learn more about public health policy so they can some day work with underserved patients as advocates and volunteers.

SMDEP helped Flynn and others catch a glimpse of the routines and satisfactions of a dental career. “Before this, pretty much all I knew about being a dentist was what I read online and learned from my biannual trips to the dental visits,’’ explains Flynn.  “This program answered a lot of questions and helped me connect the dots."

All three students said SMDEP gave them the confidence to realize that, although dental school is tough, they’ll survive because they’ve learned what it takes to succeed. “My goal seems more tangible and I feel like I’m able to get there now,’’ says Alexander-Awad. “I have the tools.’’