Page 24 - Dentistry Magazine 2022

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DENTISTRY 2022
Pedro Lopez Vega’s life seems to have followed a path that feels inevitable. Life has not been easy for the Dental Therapy Class of 2024 student, but everything he has experienced has brought him to where he is today— and shaped his vision for the future.
Lopez Vega’s story starts 26 years ago, when his parents made the 2,000 mile journey from Mexico to Postville, Iowa. The small town became home, complete with the quintessential cornfields and pig farms of the state, but also boasting a surprisingly diverse population for such a small town. “It was one of the most inter- esting places to grow up,” said
Lopez Vega.
Though he grew up an Iowan, Lopez Vega’s and his family’s immigration status shaped his life and his future. An immigration raid in 2008 resulted in his mother’s arrest and deporta- tion. A legal process resulted in visas, then permanent residency for Lopez Vega and his family, but the lessons of that time stayed with him. “That really affected my whole personality, and my character,” he said.
After a delayed visa caused him to have to briefly drop out, then receiv- ing permanent resident status his sophomore year, Lopez Vega became the first person in his family to grad- uate from college. He earned a bach- elor’s degree in political science and international relations from Luther College.
In many ways, he was living his par- ents’ dream: a college degree, steady income, health care. But still, he felt like he was not doing enough.
“My parents brought me here when
I was three. Their journey was epic,” he explained. “And I felt like I could do more, do better, with what I’d been given.”
Inspired by his girlfriend, Emily Wick, DDS ’21, he started shadowing and exploring health careers where he could make a difference. He thought he would study nursing—then when COVID shut down his traditional volunteer opportunities, he turned to and fell in love with Hope Dental Clinic.
Seeing that spark of joy from mis- sion-driven oral health care, Wick brought up the possibility of den- tal therapy—and for Lopez Vega, it sounded perfect.
“It brings me back to when I was young, and we were undocumented,” he said. “We didn’t get regular health care, and other people in my town had to plan a half day or day trip to get their care. I’ve been there, I’ve lived that, and I know that I can pro- vide a space for them.”
Lopez Vega sees the field as a space where he can grow, and where he
can make real change in a community. And he knows how important it is for providers like him to occupy those spaces. “I really believe we should have a population of providers that reflect the community they take care of,” he said. “I really enjoy the diversi- ty I see in my class, and the perspec- tives that come with it.”
And he has continued to grow, even within the first semester of his pro- gram. On the third day of the semes- ter, he became a US citizen. For the first time, he could see a long-term future for himself. “It’s been so inspir- ing, to see the way things can hap- pen,” he said. “The road is laying out in front of me, and I can see where my life is going to be for the next three years.”
The road he sees includes becoming a dental therapist and giving back to a small, diverse community—and ad- vocating for the expansion of dental therapy to Iowa, so he can give back to his own community.
“Every once in a while, I realize, it was 26 years ago that my parents were
in Mexico, waiting for the next rain- fall, so they could feed themselves through the winter. And now, they work, they own a house, they bug me about school, they have grandkids.”
Lopez Vega knows that he is fortu- nate, and is grateful for where he is. “I know there are kids in the position I was in, who aren’t where I am now,” he explained. “So what I do is not for my benefit. It’s for my community’s benefit. I want to help people, the way that I’ve been helped to reach this point, and to help others attain their goals, too.”
Growing to give back as a dental therapist