Dental Hygiene Basics Scholarship

What drew me to the dental field was my time spent volunteering with an organization called YWAM Medical Ships. This nonprofit organization delivers free healthcare to individuals living in remote villages of Papua New Guinea (PNG). What was initially intended to be a six-month volunteer commitment turned into a life-changing three-year volunteer experience where I was eventually given the opportunity to lead and manage the dental clinics for the final year of my involvement. As the Dental Clinic Manager, my responsibilities included managing all aspects of the dental clinic on the ship and in the villages – from administration, yearly procurement of dental consumables, educating patients and school aged children on the importance of maintaining good oral hygiene, and leading teams of dental professionals from across the globe. While such responsibilities were challenging, they also afforded me many unique opportunities to work closely with the people of PNG, growing my passion for leadership and community development. As dental care is extremely limited in PNG, many live with the physical pain of a toothache as the norm. Any time and skills I can provide to help even one person be relieved from tooth pain is worth it. My long-term goal is to volunteer with local non-profit organizations as a dental hygienist to provide free services to individuals who cannot afford them. My greatest goal is to provide these services on an international level in developing nations. Prior to starting Dental Hygiene School I had volunteered with Impact Portland and Medical Teams International and would love to volunteer with them as a Hygienist. Over the years, I have volunteered locally in my hometown serving holiday meals and giving out school supplies to low-income families. I had the opportunity to volunteer in both Nicaragua and in Mexico working in the orphanages and building houses for those in need. My life passion is to serve people in need, I get this desire from my dad who taught me to give my time and skills. Volunteering with YWAM Medical Ships has given me a passion for the dental field and has shown me that I want to become a dental hygienist to help those in remote villages of developing nations and for those who are in America in my own neighborhood. I believe that preventative medicine and oral health education can save many from oral health problems, pain, and disease. Gaining a college education is very expensive, especially attending a dental hygiene school. In order to afford my schooling I spend my summers working, apply for any scholarship I am eligible to apply for, and plan to take out student loans to cover any remaining amount. Receiving this scholarship will help me two fold; it will allow me to focus my time on my studies rather than worrying about how I will pay for the term and it will allow me to graduate with little debt enabling me to go serve as a volunteer sooner. Thank you for your consideration.