{"id":5587,"date":"2024-11-08T09:56:05","date_gmt":"2024-11-08T14:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/newbury-center\/?p=5587"},"modified":"2024-11-08T12:02:21","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T17:02:21","slug":"applauding-first-generation-success-four-gsdm-students-reflect-on-their-education-paths-for-national-first-generation-college-celebration-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/newbury-center\/2024\/11\/08\/applauding-first-generation-success-four-gsdm-students-reflect-on-their-education-paths-for-national-first-generation-college-celebration-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Applauding First Generation Success: Four GSDM Students Reflect on their Education Paths for National First-Generation College Celebration Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reposted from BU Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

National First-Generation College Celebration Day is held annually on November 8 in honor of the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965\u2014a revolutionary act that promoted postsecondary education access for underrepresented groups with new grants, loans, and work-study programs.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s, doctorate, or professional degree. This day strives to both celebrate current first-generation students\u2019 success and highlight the ongoing advocacy work to create more opportunities for future students.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
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. (From top left to bottom right, Jamielynn Lesmeister DMD 27, Liju Anna Bennett (Aanya) DMD AS 25, Bretmarck Davila CAMED 23 DMD 28, and MarKee Weaver DMD 27. Photo credit: Dan Bomba, GSDM.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Jamielynn Lesmeister DMD 27<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"
Now in her second year of the DMD program, Jamielynn Lesmeister DMD 27 said the GSDM community has welcomed her and made her feel like she can truly accomplish her goals. (Photo credit: Dan Bomba, GSDM.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lesmeister said she never viewed her upbringing as a disadvantage, but rather a motivator.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From a young age, Lesmeister knew she wanted to work in the healthcare field. Her life drastically changed when her parents separated, leaving Lesmeister\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She started working two jobs while she was in high school and during her associate\u2019s degree. At Lesmeister\u2019s restaurant job, she would chat with patrons and talk about her healthcare aspirations. One of her \u201cregulars\u201d connected her with a dental office where she went on to become a dental assistant and fall in love with dentistry.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was younger, I had to mature at a young age, so I didn\u2019t really get a chance to have [a] childhood experience,\u201d Lesmeister said. \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lesmeister earned\u00a0<\/span>her bachelor\u2019s 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\u2019d find a supportive dental community outside of her first dental office.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe only dental mentors that I looked up to were the people from my dental office job,\u201d Lesmeister said. \u201cI 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\u2019re very supportive, and they want to help you succeed. I just feel grateful for being here.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven if you just feel a little lost in yourself or you don\u2019t know where to start or you\u2019re having just a hard time, just as long as you\u2019re confident in yourself, you\u2019ll end up where you want to be,\u201d Lesmeister said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Bretmarck Davila CAMED 23 DMD 28<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"
Throughout his education, Bretmarck Davila CAMED 23 DMD 28 said he has had to find solutions on his own. It\u2019s been difficult, but a worthwhile endeavor. (Photo credit: Dan Bomba, GSDM.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Davila and his family are originally from Nicaragua. Neither of his parents attended college\u2013his father completed third grade, and his mother completed high school\u2013nor 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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes me happy that I\u2019m 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\u2019t be able to have that, [they] won\u2019t be able to suffer as much,\u201d Davila said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s in oral health sciences and is now in his first year at GSDM.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout his education, Davila said he has had to find solutions on his own. It\u2019s been difficult, but a worthwhile endeavor.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d Davila said. \u201cMy parents obviously had never done that, so I was just a what? 19-year-old kid, just trying to figure that out.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s vital to not take anything for granted.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt celebrates all the parents\u2013their hard work and dedication to get their kids and to the point that we are now, even if it\u2019s undergrad or professional school, Davila said. \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Liju Anna Bennett (Aanya) DMD AS 25<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Liju Anna Bennett (Aanya) DMD AS 25 said her time at GSDM has been incredibly healing, as it has been motivating to receive recognition for her achievements. (Photo credit: Dan Bomba, GSDM.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bennett isn\u2019t just the first in her family to go to college; she is also the first dentist\/doctor from her remote village in Southern India.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bennett\u2019s parents studied until they were in 10th grade. She said they were determined to make sure she received educational opportunities they couldn\u2019t, and she was able to completed high school and dental school in India. Her educational prowess was both a huge blessing and responsibility.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cT<\/span>hey wanted me to be something they couldn\u2019t be,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cThat was inspiring, but the pressure was very intense.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2013ranging from working various jobs in order to afford dental school application fees to the internal stress to get ahead\u2013she said she knew she had to achieve her dental dreams and make her family proud.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[Being] a first-generation student is hard because you actually do not have someone to guide you,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cI have forever felt like I fought my own battles and learned from my own mistakes.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo not lose yourself in the process,\u201d Bennett said.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

MarKee Weaver DMD 27<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"
If he were to re-do his dental school journey ,MarKee Weaver DMD 27 said he would try not to be afraid to reach out and ask for help. (Photo credit: Dan Bomba, GSDM.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2013leaving 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.\u00a0Weaver said he had trouble finding people to speak about his struggles, noting that it was hard for his mother, who did not attend college,\u00a0to relate.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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,\u201d Weaver said. \u201cBut I\u2019m 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\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a first-generation student, I\u2019m 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,\u201d Weaver said. \u201cI feel like first-generations students are a part of some of the ways that we can help diversify and challenge the status quo.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019t do anyone good to be anxious about failing. In fact, the only true way to fail is to not try at all.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGive yourself grace and run your own race,\u201d he said. \u201cUnderstand that things may not always go as you want them to do, but just give yourself grace. Understand that you\u2019re running your own race, you have your own set of circumstances and things that you\u2019re dealing with. Don\u2019t try to compare yourself to someone else\u2019s journey and what they\u2019re doing because everyone has their own race that they have to run and things that they have to deal with.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By\u00a0<\/span>Rachel Grace Philipson<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reposted from BU Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine National First-Generation College Celebration Day is held annually on November 8 in honor of the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965\u2014a revolutionary act that promoted postsecondary education access for underrepresented groups with new grants, loans, and work-study programs.\u00a0\u00a0 Boston University defines a first-generation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22838,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/newbury-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5587"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/newbury-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/newbury-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/newbury-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22838"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/newbury-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5587"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/newbury-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5589,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/newbury-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5587\/revisions\/5589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/newbury-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/newbury-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/newbury-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}