Syriana Etheart: Attending an advising session (1-2 points)

        On November 3rd, I had a meeting with the first-year Health Careers advisor, Lauj Gardner. Going into the meeting, I wanted to discuss my 4-year plan, my future career, and potential internships. I really wanted to build a strong foundation for my future career and have an idea of what my path would look like. By setting a clear path, I would have a better idea of what steps I need to take in order to achieve my goal of being accepted into dental school. Beginning the meeting, we had quick introductions and then went into my 4-year plan. I had created my 4-year plan before the meeting, but I wanted to look it over with Dr. Gardner to ensure that I’m hitting all my prerequisites. Overall, the majority of my 4-year plan looked good, but Dr.Gardner advised that I take certain elective courses, such as anatomy, in order to further prepare me for dental school. Alongside the 4-year plan, we discussed what I wanted to do over the summer. I expressed how I wanted to work on shadowing and just get some overall experience; my only wish was that I would stay in Boston during the summer. Dr.Gardner agreed with my course of action and also recommended some programs (pre-dental and research) for me to look at for the summer of 2027. The programs she recommended look really interesting, so I’ll definitely be keeping note of them.

        During our meeting, I also brought up pipeline programs. I was aware that Spelman has a pipeline program specifically with UCONN’s dental school. I plan on returning to New England for dental school because I want to be closer to home. Ideally, I want to attend Tufts or Boston University; however, I would rather have a guaranteed acceptance through a pipeline program. I expressed my interest in this program to Dr.Gardner, to which she agreed was a great Idea. We both agreed it would also make the most sense to apply during my sophomore year, when I’ve had a little more experience. In the meantime, she suggested that I set up a meeting with Dr. Bailey, who is the pipeline and partnership coordinator. I plan on scheduling an appointment with her during the spring semester in order to introduce myself and get some more information regarding the pipeline program.

Overall, this meeting was very helpful. I was able to gain a lot of insight into what I have to do in order to get into dental school. I recognize that this journey is heavily reliant on the actions, and I must be self-motivated. However, it’s very comforting knowing that I have an advisor to support me. I definitely plan on meeting with Dr.Gardner once more in the spring.