Page 24 - Dentistry Magazine 2021

24 DENTISTRY 2021
From dental school to active navy service
When Taylor Mikkalson graduated from the DDS program at the University
of Minnesota in May 2021, she had a different job than most students waiting for her. As her classmates went off to practice in various settings, Mikkalson said goodbye to her undergraduate and graduate alma mater and headed to the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina.
Mikkalson is part of the Health Profes- sional Scholarship Program through the United States Navy, which funded her dental school tuition in exchange for a four-year pledge to serve. Last summer, she began a credentialing tour, which involves rotating through specialties and the station’s comprehensive care clinic as an active duty officer, Lieutenant. “Making a four-year long commitment four years prior to it happening isn’t an easy task,” she explained. But she felt pulled to serve, following in her family members’ footsteps, and she is proud of her choice.
Mikkalson left with four years of experience, volunteer work and memo- ries. “The highs and lows of this rigorous learning experience would have been so much less enjoyable without my class- mates, professors, patients and mentors along the way,” she said, calling them a second family. “I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the people who have supported me and molded me into the medical professional I’ve become.”
An advocate at every level
Colton Cannon, DDS/MPH ’23, has always had a passion for oral health advocacy. It’s why he’s pursuing a dual degree in dentistry and public health: so he can explore ways to make oral healthcare available for everyone. “I’m working to become the most well-rounded oral health care provider I can,” he explained. Recently, that’s meant two big undertakings: an election, and a new organization.
In February 2021, Cannon found out that he’d been elected the American Student Dental Association national president. “It’s truly an incredible honor to serve on behalf of the association’s 23,000 members over the course of this next year,” he said after the announcement.
“I look forward to advocating and representing dental students on the issues that matter most.”
Cannon hopes he can have a substantial impact on licensure reform, eliminating barriers to care, and reinforcing a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. He’s confident in his ability to impact change in these areas, thanks to an organization he founded in a virtual course this year.
Born of an elective course that brought together instructors and faculty from five schools to explore policy in relation to dentistry, Slice of Pie hosts monthly policy exchanges around key current topics in oral health. “If we can have a forum of exchanges and ideas and use that to create networks, dialogue and connections, then we can lead to changes in the field that make a real impact.”
He is excited to see that impact—and his future—come into clearer view. “If we can bring our momentum forward and connect with others in the field, we might be able to collectively make some change.”