Who's Writing Here? Meet the Author

Hello friends, In case you were wondering who was on the other end of your screen, I am Patrice, author of this, the Stu-DENT Diaries blog, that's me to the left. Currently (see date), I am a pre-dental student. Been through the horrors of the applications, the DATs, the rejections... Now I eagerly await the start of Dental School in the Fall of 2010.

I was inspired to chronicle my journey of being a Student Dentist because of my experiences. As much as there may be a vast amount of information out there about the different processes of getting into and through Dental School, it all might prove to be overbearing and a lot to sift through to identify what can really work for you. This is why this blog was created. It offers a first hand approach to the different processes that one goes through to get into and through dental school. Most, if not all the information you will find here are from my own experiences.

To be a dentist has always been a dream of mine. I remember as a child being intrigued and awed by how the little devices worked, by how a denture was made; how putting a gooey substance in one's mouth came out being solid and in the shape of the persons dentition, by seeing a picture of my tooth on the little black squares known as films, the sounds, the smells...  Not surprisingly, I ended up starting my college career by enrolling in a Dental Hygiene program, the only dental related program at Northern Caribbean University (NCU), the liberal Arts college in my home town Mandeville, of my home country, Jamaica. However, the scope of a Dental Hygienist proved to be a bit limiting for me. I wanted to be a dentist. In my quest to be a dentist, there were limitations that hindered me from taking that next step. I needed the pre-requisites for Dental School. After completion of the DH program, I migrated to the U.S and enrolled in a small Liberal Arts college that is part of the City University of New York (CUNY). Though the school didn't offer a pre-dental course, I used biology as a spring board as it offered and included the pre-requisites needed for dental school. Along the way, there were many encouraging professors that not only acted as mentors but offered opportunities for research, which I readily took advantage of.

Now, five years after beginning my DH program, I am on my way to starting Dental School this Fall semester. I see this as a journey in which I would continue to chronicle each week. Hopefully, in the process I can inspire someone to not be like me, but, to be much better, because they will learn from my mistakes and experiences.

If you would like to also add your story, please, feel free to leave a comment or visit the forums.