Page 17 - Dentistry Magazine 2022

Feature 17
Receiving scholarship funds allowed Tadé to enter the field, and to have the freedom to serve communities that need him most upon graduation.
“This career requires accumulating
a significant amount of debt just to get in the door,” he said. “Receiving a scholarship has really freed up pos- sibilities. It means I can give back to my community, and be a donor in the future. I’m looking forward to giving.”
“Donors make dreams possible, and they made this career path possible for me.”
Support that propelled a
career
Annika Johnson, DDS ’22, thought she would pursue medical school like her father, not dentistry like her mother. But then she discovered oral and maxillofacial surgery.
“In oral surgery, you see patients when they might be in a vulner-
able state,” she explained. “The opportunity for service has al-
ways been my biggest motivator,
so oral and maxillofacial surgery really seemed to match my personal- ity and my goals for patient care.”
Part of what has made that career possible for Johnson is the financial
ISAAC TADÉ
aid she received through the Omicron Kappa Upsilon Beta Beta Scholarship and the Townsen Scholarship-funded Academic Skill Award.
The awards have been invaluable to Johnson. They have helped her pay her tuition and have enabled her to attend professional conferences, in- cluding the American Association of Oral Maxillofacial Surgeons Annual Meeting, held in Nashville in fall 2021.
“Not only was I able to attend, I was able to do so with faculty members,” said Johnson. “It was great to expe- rience that professional camaraderie and to participate in so many educa- tional sessions.”
After her graduation in 2022, Johnson remained at the University of Minne- sota for her oral and maxillofacial surgery residency. She’s bringing with her the skills she needs to succeed— and gratitude for the experiences she enjoyed along the way.
Bringing joy—and
education—to patients
Jose Gigato Gonzalez, DDS ’23,
has always had a passion for artistic skills. He also knew he loved, and had great skill for, science.
When it came to deciding what to
do with his life, Gigato Gonzalez embraced those seemingly unconnect- ed paths. “I wanted a profession that could combine arts and manual skills with science,” he explained. Dentistry was the perfect fit.
Gigato Gonzalez watched his cousin become a dentist in Cuba, where
he was born and raised, and became inspired to follow in her footsteps. “She showed me the everyday life of a dentist, but also how rewarding it was to help people restore their smile,” he explained.
When it came to choosing a dental school, the University of Minnesota attracted Gigato Gonzalez because of its commitment to diversity, equi- ty and inclusion. “I thought that my unique background could be some- thing helpful for other students and for patients,” he explained, “and
I could also learn and interact with others with different experiences.
Gigato Gonzalez was a bit hesitant to jump into dentistry due to the financial load of pursuing a dental degree. His scholarship funds made the decision easy. Gigato Gonzalez is the recipient of the Roland Jones Scholarship, a
Annika Johnson, DDS ’22