Baylor College of Dentistry, a prestigious and high-quality dental school, attracts exceptional students who excel academically throughout their undergraduate careers.
At Baylor, the quality of scholarship is the first point of consideration of the students admitted. For that reason two Southern University students, Saosat Olatunbosun and Shatona Berard, were accepted for enrollment in the Fall of 2004.
“They are both very committed students,” said Dr. Wesley Gray, researcher and professor of biochemistry in the Chemistry Department.
“Their biggest quality, relative to other students, is their ability to integrate knowledge acquired in my biochemistry course.”
A desire to make a difference in the community also made them competitive applicants for dental school. “African-Americans are scarce in the dental health care industry, which is unfortunate since blacks are more likely than whites to be uninsured or seek dental care,” said Berard.
The number of preventive visits is below recommended levels, and access to dental care remains a huge concern for minorities, the elderly, children on Medicaid, and other low-income children.
Saosat and Shatona prepared themselves for their goals by decorating their resumes with diversified credentials, including their participation in a pre-dental summer research program at Baylor, where they were roommates.
“The summer program improved us academically, but the hands-on experience offered a better insight of the dental field and improved our manual dexterity,” said Berard.
Benefits of the program included the opportunity to take classes under dental school professors, participate in a dental school lab course, and shadow dentists.
Additionally, there was a waiver for the $1000 Kaplan course fee and the DAT was paid for by the program.
Olatunbosun was one in three to received first place honors, while Berard was one in three to receive second place honors out of the 38 students in the program.
“My chemistry background was what most prepared me for the Dental Admissions Test”, says Olatunbosun, who scored the same or better than 98% of students taking the DAT at that time in General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry.
“Leaving Southern will be bittersweet, because I’ve encountered great people, including professors who have paved the way for me” said Berard. “But I know that ahead there are more opportunities to experience.”
