As a future orthodontist, I want to provide quality treatment to as many people in this population as possible. My vision is to have a low-fee, high-volume practice that will cater towards the local Hispanic and underserved population where I live. Orthodontic treatment has always been an elective and “luxury” treatment that many underserved populations do not have the opportunity to experience. In addition to providing the underserved with this opportunity, I want to serve as a role model and someone that young, developing minds can look up to! Once again, I sincerely thank Colgate and the HDA Foundation Board for their selection and generosity.

Receiving this award is not only serving as a financial relief, but it also serves as a clear representation of the fact that passion and commitment to community service in our Hispanic communities does not go unnoticed. It is so wonderful to know that others see the value and the power of the student-run community projects and clinics that exist to provide care where it is needed most. I absolutely love what I do, and I do not see myself in the dental profession as someone who would ever stop providing these kinds of services to underserved and underrepresented communities. Thank you again for supporting me and my passion to serve; this has been such an incredible surprise! You are helping make my dream career a reality with this support! I look forward to someday soon having the privilege of serving as part of the Hispanic Dental Association Foundation Scholarship Committee and helping other Latinx and underrepresented students achieve their dreams of becoming oral health professionals while reducing the financial burden of a dental degree!

This scholarship is significant to me in so many ways. It goes without saying that financial contributions to my educational endeavors are greatly appreciated, as the burden of debt is immense. However, my connections to HDA and its missions extend past monetary value. In my university’s clinic, I regularly treat Hispanic patients due to my first language being Spanish. On a regular basis, I see members of my community who have never been seen by a dentist and others whose ongoing concerns have been repeatedly ignored. These negative interactions (or lack thereof) too often push our neighbors away from help. Knowing these barriers exist in healthcare, I always make an effort to connect with my patients; I have already seen first-hand the impact I can make on my patients by taking the extra time to hear their concerns or even just share a personal anecdote. I may ask questions that my peers see as “unnecessary”. More often than not, I finish late (it’s the Colombian in me). However, I leave the clinic each day knowing that I am fostering a welcoming, inclusive environment for my patients. By selecting me to receive this scholarship, you are empowering me to become a better dental student, and eventually dental provider, for those in my community that need it most.

I am incredibly grateful to be a recipient of the HDAF/Colgate Scholarship! Not only does this award recognize my previous efforts and achievements as a dental student, but it also serves as validation and investment in my future as a dental provider. With this scholarship, I hope to continue furthering the mission of HDA by serving the Latinx community through outreach efforts during dental school and beyond. My inspiration for pursuing a career in dentistry has always been my community, and I always felt that my purpose in life was to help bridge the gap between the dental profession and the migrant farmworkers in my hometown. Upon graduation, I plan to return to the San Joaquin Valley and provide oral healthcare to the hard-working farmworkers of California and their families. I also plan to play an active role in mentoring the next generation of dental professionals and continue to pay it forward.

I feel supported and motivated through this scholarship to continue being involved at school, surrounding community and creating bonds with my Hispanic patients. Every day I am excited to go to clinic because it means I am furthering myself into the profession of my dreams. Whether I have a patient or not, I am always around clinic in case someone needs my help and that usually means to translate. UCLA School of Dentistry has an overwhelming amount of Hispanic patients and I am very thankful to speak Spanish. In the beginning of my dental school journey, I was afraid and unconfident in my ability to translate. However, as the years progressed, I became more secure with my translating especially after realizing patients find it comforting and relieving to finally ask their questions and provide their feedback to their student doctors. This scholarship helps put my mind at ease about the financial aspect of dental school and focus more on creating these bonds with the Hispanic community at UCLA. My career goals align with HDA’s vision of promoting overall health of the Hispanic and other underserved communities. During school, I frequently volunteer at oral hygiene events that cater these populations. Upon graduation, I plan to work in an underserved community that is predominantly Hispanic to hopefully educate and improve their oral and overall health. After going to multiple HDA and HSDA events, I have learned that education is key and needs to be emphasized.

I am particularly proud of this award and scholarship because it is coming from the Hispanic Dental Association Foundation. This is a culmination of not just my sacrifices and effort, but those of my family's and my mentors. We all did this together, because without them believing in me and pushing me to trust in myself and my capability, I wouldn't be here pursuing this lifelong dream of mine. It is so much more than just me getting this award, it is my amigos and amigas, friends and family and their work and sacrifice and effort in getting to where they are today so that I could have the opportunities I have to be here today. It is generations of Hispanic providers and healthcare workers paving the way for future girls and boys who may have that dream as well to become a provider for their communities, and so on and so forth. This, I feel, is the overarching goal of the HDA, HSDA and mine as well. Thank you HDA Foundation and A-dec!

Because of the Colgate LatinX dental student scholarship, I feel strongly supported in my professional endeavor to pursue specialty training in pediatric dentistry next year. I am truly grateful towards the Hispanic Dental Association Foundation for offering such scholarships for dental students. I would like to thank the Colgate Latinx Leadership Network for recognizing my commitment to service, especially my volunteer work at my dental school’s clinic for the uninsured. I also feel privileged to be able to travel to the HDA Student Regional Conference in Seattle, which will be a valuable opportunity to connect with my fellow peers. As I hope to enter pediatric dental residency next year, and eventually begin my service commitment in the National Health Service Corps, I will truly take the HDA vision to heart and create a lifelong career centered on community-oriented care. In the future, I hope to mentor pre-dental and dental students and motivate them to consider careers in a community health care setting. Also, providing dental focused Spanish lessons to my peers in school has been a fun and truly fulfilling experience. Currently, I will continue to participate in volunteer activities that my school chapter does throughout my fourth year and remain involved in the Spanish Language committee that organizes Spanish lessons geared toward dentistry.

Thank you very much to the Hispanic Dental Association Foundation and the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation. I don’t have words to describe this amazing opportunity that has been given to me. This is one of the most exciting and significant events of my career since I started this beautiful path. This scholarship makes me believe that I am doing something right and reaffirms my duty and responsibility in continuing my path in contributing and putting my efforts into creating, preserving, and building new beautiful smiles that will start with the promotion of dental education in my Hispanic and Latino communities and to those whose access to this basic information and basic needs of a human being is restricted or denied. I will continue to provide accessibility to the majority of under-deserved communities and partner with every single person or individual who wants to join in this great cause, furthermore, I will encourage every single person to pursue a path in this beautiful career that is Dentistry. I can only express my sincere thanks for this outstanding award and emphasize that I will keep working diligently and very hard along with the Hispanic Dental Association and Foundation to ensure that Dental Care and Dental Education are reached to the Entire Hispanic Population and Under-deserved Communities.

It is an honor to be chosen as a recipient of the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation Scholarship through the Hispanic Dental Association Foundation. As a fourth-year dental student at the University of Illinois at Chicago and an immigrant from Colombia, this achievement represents the results of various opportunities that I have had to learn from many professionals that have enriched my passion for dentistry and have encouraged me to pursue opportunities such as this. Receiving this scholarship is a great opportunity to continue pushing myself to excellence and one day give back to future members of this association, that like me, will have senior members ready to provide opportunities so we can maintain interest in networking and work towards advancing the Hispanic community, and other underserved communities. While I’m incredibly grateful and feel touched to receive this support from the HDAF and Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation, I think about the responsibility I have, to further work to decrease the burden of access to oral healthcare within many different communities in our country especially my Latino community. I acknowledge that this is a major problem that has been present for many years and requires more than my individual work as a future professional in the dental field, but the effort of a collaborative work of more professionals, and therefore it is important to continue being part of the HDA so that together we can represent our peers and help shape the health policies to decrease disparities in oral health.

I am extremely grateful that I was chosen to receive the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation Student Scholarship from the Hispanic Dental Association Foundation because this award relieves some of my financial stress. It has been difficult transitioning from preclinical curriculum to clinical care while working a Federal Work Study job as time commitments often overlap. Now, I can focus more time and energy on promoting the overall health of the Hispanic and other underserved communities with the Midwestern University- Illinois HSDA chapter. Part of our chapter’s mission is to educate individuals and families from underserved communities about the importance of oral hygiene and how it can improve their overall systemic health. As president of our chapter, I will expand our outreach and build relationships with people in the community in hopes to provide more people with the necessary resources to achieve proper oral care. My goal is to continue leading and collaborating with other individuals who believe in HDA’s vision to advocate for oral health in Hispanic and other underserved communities.

The journey of becoming a dentist that represents and serves the Hispanic community the way it deserves is a long and difficult one. This scholarship symbolizes a resource and aid in accomplishing that personal lifetime goal. As a first generation American and the first to seek higher education in my family, this road has been full of obstacles and difficulties for me. Nonetheless, it is even more gratifying than I could have ever imagined. Being awarded this HDA Foundation/Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation scholarship exemplifies that I am not alone in aiming to improve Hispanic oral health and that there are many parties joining forces to make it possible each step of the way. I am immensely grateful and now feel an even greater sense of purpose in becoming the best oral health care professional I can possibly be for my Hispanic community. I vow to continue to further the Foundation’s vision as a proud Hispanic dental student and thereafter in my professional career.

This scholarship is a reminder that our community uplifts itself from within. I have only made it this far in my life thanks to the service and generosity of others and their trust that I would be a worthy investment. I am extremely grateful and honored that the Hispanic Dental Association Foundation and Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation saw the future of their vision in me. As I continue this journey through the dental profession, I only hope to begin to pay it forward by serving my community. I anticipate working together with my fellow HSDA members at UIC to continue our volunteer efforts to give back to the local community by educating them about the importance of oral health and providing them with resources to minimize the inequities our communities face. After graduation I plan to focus my practice on providing multilingual care so that the Hispanic and other underrepresented communities can feel seen and heard when they come in to take care of their oral health. I plan on becoming a member of the Hispanic Dental Association of Chicago and using the power of organized dentistry to expand access to care to those who have been excluded. Everyone deserves access to equitable dental care. Although we have a long way to go, I can only hope that by encouraging other students like myself to carry the torch and work together that we can keep pushing the boundaries in this country until we make that a reality.

I am honored to receive the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation Dental Hygiene Student scholarship from the Hispanic Dental Association Foundation and the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation. This award money means a lot to me because it will allow me to continue my dental hygiene education and graduate from Malcolm X College in May of 2023. I feel fortunate to have learned of this opportunity and how the Hispanic Dental Association supports students interested in improving the oral health of the Hispanic population and other underserved communities in Chicago. I am prepared to offer my dental hygiene services to this community both as a student and a future dental hygiene practitioner. For the past 20 years, I have worked as a dental assistant in a practice that serves this patient population. I have seen firsthand how important it is for children to receive preventive care and develop healthy oral hygiene habits. As a 2nd-year dental hygiene student, I plan to volunteer my time at community events supported by HDA and other organizations and use my skills to improve the oral health of the public. I will continue this practice after I graduate as I believe the children are our future! Prevention is the key and I am committed to improving both the oral health and general health of underserved communities.

I am extremely honored to be the recipient of the Procter and Gamble Dental Hygiene Scholarship. It is rewarding to know that my constant hard work and academic efforts are being recognized. I am greatly motivated to keep on learning as much as possible in my last year as a Dental Hygiene student. I plan to continue expanding the HDA vision to promote overall health of the Hispanic communities by continuing to devote my time to volunteer, promote oral health, and participate in wellness events to help my community. As an officer of my school’s chapter for HSDA – UTHealth Houston, I am involved in constant community outreach opportunities that allow me to keep dedicating myself in becoming a skilled, capable, and knowledgeable clinician to continue being a helpful member of my community.

I am honored and blessed to have been chosen as a recipient for the HDAF/Crest Oral-B Scholarship. This opportunity and support has served as a reminder that my influence on promoting the overall health of the Hispanic and other underserved communities does not go unnoticed. The HDA has provided a sense of togetherness for dental providers and students with the same vision. Together we will collaborate, advocate, educate, serve, and even inspire our community. As a first generation dental student and the only Hispanic female in my dental class, I have recognized the need for more Hispanic representation in the field. I have the privilege to provide a safe space for Spanish speaking patients and hope to play an impact in improving their oral and overall health. In addition, I want to provide outreach opportunities to future generations and motivate them to pursue higher education. Upon graduation, I plan to work for a community health center with a mission to serve the underserved. This scholarship will allow me to focus on these goals, continue participating in mission trips, and discover new ways to positively impact our community. I would like to thank the HDA Foundation for believing in me and supporting me through this journey. My vision would not be possible without this amazing community.

I am honored to be the recipient of this scholarship. This scholarship is a symbol of hard work and perseverance. It is an energy booster as I continue my training in dentistry, and continue serving the Latin community. This scholarship will ease my financial investment in higher education. It is also a reminder that we are unidos. Unidos to support one another, mentor one another and help one another. Dentistry is an adjunct tool to help improve and promote the healthy lives of many individuals around the globe. The beauty of this profession is that we can change lives in a matter of hours. We can make a difference in the nutrition of individuals by restoring their masticatory function. A profession that enriches one's values and character. After actively serving my community in Connecticut, I can attest that we ought to increase access to education in oral health and eliminate barriers such as language, transportation, and other social determinants of health to ultimately maximize access to oral care and overall healthcare. My goal is to ultimately increase access to care for those who have the least and need the most. The vulnerable, individuals with disabilities, and those with special needs. Soon, I will be in a position to serve others, but my job starts yesterday. I look forward to building a coalition of dentists and other health providers to make a positive impact inside as well as outside of the dental office. So, let us educate more children and parents in each one of the school districts about proper oral care. Let us promote an overall different lifestyle that will reward nuestra gente with a beautiful smile. Gracias.