Essay Instructions: Listed below are the several questions for the personal statement and my answers for them. Can you please use this information to clearly state my message to the dental school admission board.
Here are some tips:
• Be honest about how you became interested in studying dentistry. If becoming a dentist wasn't a childhood dream, that's fine, but explain how you discovered dentistry as a career possibility and what you have done to research the career. Have you observed or worked in dental offices? Explain what you've done to demonstrate your interest in dentistry. Talk to practicing dentists to increase your understanding of general dental practices.
I wasn’t interested in dentistry until I randomly decided to change my career from being a banker at BB&T to trying to go to dental assisting school right before my sophomore year. During this time period I was working at BB&T, going to college to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Biology and taking night classes at dental assisting school. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about oral anatomy and the various aspects of the dentistry. After finishing my dental assisting program, I wanted to explore more about dentistry and decided to volunteer at Dr. Jina Nagdi’s dental office. I could not leave my bank job because I was unable to find a dental assisting job that would allow me to continue to pursue my bachelor’s degree. I enjoy working with my hands and this was part of the reason why dentistry was so appealing to me. I also enjoyed the challenge to visually inspecting the various oral structures. I still did not know if this was sufficient enough for me to pursue a career in dentistry so I volunteered for Dr. Jina Nagdi. I learned many things from her and truly look up to her because she is a leader in the community. Dr. Nagdi showed me that dentistry can allow you to have many advantages such as allowing you to give back to the community. Dentistry empowers you by giving you resources which you can use to contribute to the community. Dentistry can also allow you to impact the lives of the individuals who you interact with. Unlike the banking job, there isn’t a client-banker relationship instead there is a very personal relationship between a dentist and their patient. Dentistry is the perfect career which will allow me to be leader in the community, have sufficient time with my family, and become an entrepreneur. After volunteering for Dr. Nagdi, I realized that I can greatly impact not only my patient’s lives, but also the lives of the people in my community. It is because of this aspect of dentistry that convinced me that dentistry is what I want to pursue after getting my biology degree. After becoming a dentist I plan on going back home to Afghanistan over the summer to provide dental care to the underprivileged children and adults. This will help me set an example for the younger generations back home and it will allow me to contribute to rebuilding my country.
• Do you have any special talents or leadership skills that could be transferable to the practice of dentistry?
To avoid the war in Afghanistan my family has moved from Afghanistan to India then eventually we came to the United States. Due to my advantage of living in Afghanistan, India, and United States, I have been able to learn multiple languages such as Farsi, Dari, Hindi, Urdu, and English. This is beneficial because I can communicate with those who speak other languages that I speak as well as English. Working for the bank allowed me to learn how to become a great leader. I mastered the skills needed to excel in my work atmosphere and provided my strategies to other coworkers in order to reach team goals. This accomplishment was even recognized by the CEO of BB&T, Kelly King, whom invited me to an event which included all the executive board members.
• Express your commitment to helping others and mention any efforts made that enforce that commitment.
I have volunteered in numerous events and places such as Feed The Hood, Carpenter’s Shelter, The Light House Project, Junior Achievement and The Bayat Foundation. Feed the Hood was an event in district of Columbia which consisted of feeding the underprivileged. I have volunteered at the carpenter’s shelter and helped them fix improve their facilities by painting, planting flower, and fixing the playground. The light house project is a community based program through BB&T that helps the communities improve by providing both financial assistance and allow various employees volunteer and teach financial literacy to the community thus allowing them to be more financially independent. I have also assisted in the Junior Achievement Fundraiser which donates all the funds that is raised to the underprivileged children who need school supplies and other educational needs. I am also involved in contributing the largest Afghan Charity known as the Bayat Foundation, which aids in healthcare, education, and well-being of the afghan people.
• Did you have to work to pay for your education? How has that made you a stronger applicant? To get where you are today, have you had to overcome hardships or obstacles? If so, how has this influenced your motivation for advanced education?
Ever since I have graduated, I have paid for my school and this has helped me become an excellent money manager. With my banking experience I have learned to manage finances efficiently allowing me to not only pay for my school but also assist my parents who are retired. My ability to work and study has greatly benefited both my family and I. It has allowed us to survive the housing crisis and the collapsing economy. My ability to manage my time efficiently has allowed to me to excel at work place and school. I can very easily say that without my minor contributions to my parents we would have probably lost our home because my sister, who provided majority of the financial needs for them, lost her job due to the falling economy. With her being jobless for a year, I went from being a full time student to a part time student in order to help provide for my family. Such events have made me an extremely strong applicant and will allow me to one day run a sound, productive, and versatile dental office. This has motivated me to advance in my education to ensure that I will be financially capable to provide my family and others in the community. This will make sure that I can contribute to many people in my community here and my goal of aiding the poor in Afghanistan. This advancement in education will allow me to go back to Afghanistan to aid those who lack basic dental hygiene or cannot afford dental care. I will be able to work together with dentists there to provide better dental care for the people.
