Applauding First Generation Success: Four GSDM Students Reflect on their Education Paths for National First-Generation College Celebration Day
National First-Generation College Celebration Day is held annually on November 8 in honor of the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965—a revolutionary act that promoted postsecondary education access for underrepresented groups with new grants, loans, and work-study programs.
Boston University defines a first-generation student as someone who is either the first in their family to go to college, or the first in their family to pursue an advanced degree, like a master’s, doctorate, or professional degree. This day strives to both celebrate current first-generation students’ success and highlight the ongoing advocacy work to create more opportunities for future students.
GSDM Communications spoke to four DMD and DMD AS first-generation students about their unconventional journeys to dental school and the value of recognizing and supporting diverse student backgrounds.
Jamielynn Lesmeister DMD 27
Lesmeister said she never viewed her upbringing as a disadvantage, but rather a motivator.
From a young age, Lesmeister knew she wanted to work in the healthcare field. Her life drastically changed when her parents separated, leaving Lesmeister’s mother as a stay-at-home mom singlehandedly raising Lesmeister and her three older sisters. However, her mother viewed higher education as a valuable gateway to lifechanging opportunities, so Lesmeister went on to balance school with work to help provide for herself and her family.
She started working two jobs while she was in high school and during her associate’s degree. At Lesmeister’s restaurant job, she would chat with patrons and talk about her healthcare aspirations. One of her “regulars” connected her with a dental office where she went on to become a dental assistant and fall in love with dentistry.
“When I was younger, I had to mature at a young age, so I didn’t really get a chance to have [a] childhood experience,” Lesmeister said. “It’s all about your mindset because I was really confident in myself and I knew that I could get to this point in my life, but it was definitely a struggle financially and everything else to get to this point.”
Lesmeister earned her bachelor’s degree at Farmingdale State College in New York in 2020. She made the decision to take two years after college to prepare for the DAT, save for the application process, and gain more dental experience. When she started at GSDM in 2023, she said she was nervous about whether she’d find a supportive dental community outside of her first dental office.
Now in her second year of the DMD program, Lesmeister said the GSDM community has welcomed her and made her feel like she can truly accomplish her goals.
“The only dental mentors that I looked up to were the people from my dental office job,” Lesmeister said. “I felt a little intimidated coming here, but then the first moment I kind of got onto campus, I felt very welcomed, and I felt like a sense of relief with the professors and faculty. You could just see their character and how they want to be there for you, they’re very supportive, and they want to help you succeed. I just feel grateful for being here.
Being a first-generation college or professional student is not impossible, Lesmeister said. She advises other prospective or current first-generation students to believe in themselves and never give up on their dreams.
“Even if you just feel a little lost in yourself or you don’t know where to start or you’re having just a hard time, just as long as you’re confident in yourself, you’ll end up where you want to be,” Lesmeister said.
Bretmarck Davila CAMED 23 DMD 28
Davila hated his smile as a child. After getting braces, though, his confidence skyrocketed and his desire to help us feel better about their teeth was born.
Davila and his family are originally from Nicaragua. Neither of his parents attended college–his father completed third grade, and his mother completed high school–nor was attending college (or beyond) common among his extended family. When Davila was three years old, his family immigrated to South Carolina. From this point on, Davila said his father emphasized that his sacrifices were for his family to better access to high-quality education.
“It makes me happy that I’m making him happy and all his sacrifice and everything that he did, leaving our entire family back in our country, for him to be the first one to pave the way for us because then now my kids won’t be able to have that, [they] won’t be able to suffer as much,” Davila said.
His family was initially surprised when Davila expressed his interest in becoming a dentist. However, as Davila progressed throughout his educational journey, he said his family began to see his vision. After Davila graduated from high school, he attended a two-year community college and then transferred to the University of South Carolina, from which he graduated in 2022. He went on to Boston University for his master’s in oral health sciences and is now in his first year at GSDM.
Throughout his education, Davila said he has had to find solutions on his own. It’s been difficult, but a worthwhile endeavor.
“I have to work harder, even starting from FAFSA before my first year of college. I was the one who had to do it by myself,” Davila said. “My parents obviously had never done that, so I was just a what? 19-year-old kid, just trying to figure that out.”
National First-Generation College Celebration Day is not just a time to recognize students, but the families who made sacrifices to give their family a better life than the one they were dealt, said Davila, who added that it’s vital to not take anything for granted.
“It celebrates all the parents–their hard work and dedication to get their kids and to the point that we are now, even if it’s undergrad or professional school, Davila said. “It’s a celebration for them, not only for us students, but for the people that provided for the students to be able to get to this point.”
Liju Anna Bennett (Aanya) DMD AS 25
Bennett isn’t just the first in her family to go to college; she is also the first dentist/doctor from her remote village in Southern India.
Bennett’s parents studied until they were in 10th grade. She said they were determined to make sure she received educational opportunities they couldn’t, and she was able to completed high school and dental school in India. Her educational prowess was both a huge blessing and responsibility.
“They wanted me to be something they couldn’t be,” Bennett said. “That was inspiring, but the pressure was very intense.”
Bennett practiced prosthodontics in India before immigrating to the U.S. in 2016, in the hopes of continuing her dental education. Despite all the challenges she faced–ranging from working various jobs in order to afford dental school application fees to the internal stress to get ahead–she said she knew she had to achieve her dental dreams and make her family proud.
“[Being] a first-generation student is hard because you actually do not have someone to guide you,” Bennett said. “I have forever felt like I fought my own battles and learned from my own mistakes.”
Bennett said her time at GSDM has been incredibly healing, as it has been motivating to receive recognition for her achievements. This type of recognition is something she has never experienced before in her career.
With her GSDM commencement approaching in the spring, she reflected on her experience, saying that she and fellow first-generation students tend to lose their identity outside of being a student. Being a student is important, but not the only thing that defines someone, she said. Bennett urged first-generation students to appreciate how hard they have worked and let themselves enjoy the doors they have opened.
“Do not lose yourself in the process,” Bennett said. “There’s always this consistent fight inside you when you are always fighting to go ahead. Once you have reached success, accept it and let go of that fight. Maybe you can take a deep breath and relax at some point.”
MarKee Weaver DMD 27
Weaver is from a small rural town in North Carolina, where he attended a charter school where his fellow students were predominantly Black and/or African American.
After graduating from high school, Weaver enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he experienced severe culture shock and imposter syndrome. Weaver was one of the only Black people in his classes–leaving him to feel isolated and misunderstood, he said. In between his junior and senior year, he left for three years to focus on his mental health. Weaver said he had trouble finding people to speak about his struggles, noting that it was hard for his mother, who did not attend college, to relate.
“It was just very difficult as a first-generation student not having the resources and the support people and having to kind of fail and figure it out on my own,” Weaver said. “But I’m kind of happy that I failed and figured it out on my own because I feel like failing before I got to dental school and then figuring out on my own, that’s a big part of like how are you able to navigate being a dental student because dental school is hard and there are going to be times when you fail.”
He returned to UNC at Chapel Hill to finish his sociology degree. While he knew he wanted to go to dental school, he said he wanted to specialize in race and ethnic disparities in healthcare to be a culturally competent provider and help diversify the dental profession. He graduated from UNC at Chapel Hill in 2021.
“Being a first-generation student, I’m able to break barriers and increase the diversity of dental school while also in the future I want to be able to further increase that diversity and get back to other people who come back behind me,” Weaver said. “I feel like first-generations students are a part of some of the ways that we can help diversify and challenge the status quo.”
Weaver completed a postbaccalaureate program at UNC Greensboro before being accepted at GSDM. If he were to re-do his dental school journey, he said he would try not to be afraid to reach out and ask for help. He also said it doesn’t do anyone good to be anxious about failing. In fact, the only true way to fail is to not try at all.
“Give yourself grace and run your own race,” he said. “Understand that things may not always go as you want them to do, but just give yourself grace. Understand that you’re running your own race, you have your own set of circumstances and things that you’re dealing with. Don’t try to compare yourself to someone else’s journey and what they’re doing because everyone has their own race that they have to run and things that they have to deal with.”