Transcription
[Music] My name is Tashona Holmes, and I'm a first-year student at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. I was born and raised in Jamaica and moved to the US at the age of 18.
I attended the Miami Dade Community College before transferring to the University of Florida, where I completed a bachelor's degree in economics. During my time at the University of Florida, I really got involved with the Black Student Union and the Caribbean Students Association, and this just gave me more exposure to the inequities that are faced by my community.
In my spare time, I enjoy traveling, photography, and music. My interest in dentistry began as a conversation with a dental student while I was completing my undergraduate degree. We spoke a lot about the field, and this really got me curious because at the time, I was considering a career change. So, I did a lot of research to see if this could be a possibility for me.
When I graduated, I worked in retail management for about two years, and during this time period, I got braces. This really opened up a door. I formed great relationships with the dental assistants and the dentist, who is now my mentor, and this gave me the opportunity to ask many questions about what it's like from a provider's perspective. I also got the opportunity to shadow, volunteer, and I just never left. I eventually became a member of the full-time staff, and this gave me a ton of experience to go into dental school with. This solidified my interest in dentistry, and it helped me to make the decision that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
I started studying for the DAT the semester before I completed my post-bac program. I started around the end of January and I scheduled my exam for May, so I gave myself about three to four months to complete all of the material. I began using the DAT boot camp and the schedule that they have online, but I quickly found that this did not align with the way that I studied, and so through trial and error, I was able to come up with a schedule that worked better for me. I also supplemented with Chad's videos and the DAT Destroyer, and I use these for revision towards the end of my studies.
Um, this was also the semester that COVID caused schools to close, and so testing centers were closing, and so my exam got pushed from May to June, and then from June to July. So, this gave me an extra two months, um, to revise.
My biggest piece of advice with approaching the DAT is: pick one resource and give it your best shot. There are tons of resources on the market, and it could become overwhelming to try to complete all of their schedules and all of their materials. So, I would say pick one, two the most, and give your best to that resource, and that should prepare you enough for the exam.
Number two, put the work in. It seems very daunting at first because it is a lot of information, and it's a very high-stakes exam, and so it can feel like there's no way that you'll ever complete it. But take it one day at a time and put the work in every single day, and at the end, you will reap the reward. The rewards.
The third piece of advice, and probably the most important, is to give yourself grace during the process. It's a very tedious process, and it is very easy to become burnt out from studying for such long periods. And so, I would say eat a balanced diet, try to factor in some exercise, take breaks. This was very hard for me to accept because I felt that taking breaks was me wasting time, but taking breaks is probably just as important as studying. It all comes together in the end, so give yourself grace and just know that if you put in your best work, the results are going to reflect that.
I believe the aspects of my application, apart from my GPA and DAT, that made me competitive were my story and the future I see for myself as a dentist. I'm from a background that experienced reduced access to dental care, and so this was a driving force that shaped the goals I have for myself as a dentist. These include expanding access to dental care both locally and internationally, increasing dental education, focusing on preventative care, and intentionally increasing diversity in dentistry.
My interview day began with a student panel run by current students. We had one student from each year who all spoke about their experiences in the dental school. We also had the opportunity to ask them about any questions that we had about the program. After the student panel, we had an orientation, and this was also led by different members from the dental school who spoke about various aspects of the curriculum. We also had the opportunity to ask them about any questions that we had at this point. After the orientation, we had a short break, followed by my first interview. This was run by a faculty member and a student and lasted about 45 minutes. We had a short break after, followed by the second round of interviews, which was done by a faculty member. In my case, this also lasted about 45 minutes. After this interview, I had another short break, followed by a financial aid presentation that went over cost of attendance and different ways to finance the education. This lasted around an hour, and this closed out the day about 5 p.m.
Number one, be yourself. I know it sounds cliché, but that is the biggest piece of advice I could give to anyone. You're going to be at this school for at least four years, so you want to make sure that it's somewhere that you're going to be happy and somewhere that you're going to flourish. Also, you want to make sure that the values and the goals of the school are consistent with that of your own.
Number one tip is: be yourself. Secondly, know your application. I was asked several questions from my application. It was an open-style interview, and so they had my application readily available to ask me any questions that they were unsure about. So, know your application so that you're able to speak of these experiences in a way that sends a signal that you were left with some kind of impact.
My third tip is: know your why for that school. I was asked this question by every single school: "What was it that attracted you to our program?" You need to be able to answer this to convey genuine interest in that school and reasons why the program is going to be the best fit for you and the goals that you have for your career.
My number four tip is to ask questions. Um, this is also going to convey interest, and a school is not going to pick you if they don't think you're genuinely interested in the program. So, this is one way to convey that. Remember, the interview is a two-way street as well, so asking questions also gives you the opportunity to decide whether this program is a good fit for you.
There were a couple of things about HSDM that stood out to me and were ultimately the deciding factors as to why I chose to attend. These include the curriculum's focus on integrating oral health as a part of comprehensive health, the small class size that allowed me to have a close relationship with my classmates as well as faculty, and the pass/fail curriculum. This allowed me to explore other interests outside of the classroom.
My transition from being a pre-dental to a dental student was very exciting, but was also quite challenging. The workload was just something that I've never experienced before, and so it took me a while to adjust to this. For example, an entire semester of statistics would be covered in about one to two lectures. The exams, the style of the exams were also very different because in undergrad, we were used to having a separate exam for each discipline. However, here, the exams covered everything that you've learned up until that point, so biology, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, for example, would all be covered on the same exam, and so this also took a while to adjust to.
I found that I became very overwhelmed. I became burnt out to some extent, and I added unnecessary pressure to myself by believing that I was the only one who was experiencing this, and so I felt some isolation due to that. What helped me during this time was really relying on my support system. So, I spoke very frequently to my family back home. Um, I also spoke a lot to my friends, and eventually, I opened up to my classmates here about what I was experiencing, and I found that I was not the only one going through this. And so, this really highlighted the importance of not comparing yourself to others. Everyone's journey is tailored to their own experiences, and so it's important to figure out what works for you, take it one day at a time, and take time to take care of yourself.
At HSDM, we're fully immersed in the med school for the first year. So, we take all of the same classes together. A typical day of class runs from about 8 a.m. until 12 noon, and we utilize the case-based collaborative learning style. This means that we prepare for class before coming with background information, and then we use this information to evaluate different cases in small groups of about four. Each member of the group comes up with their own answers for different questions, and then we discuss this with the group, form a group consensus, and then discuss and debate this with the rest of the class. This forces us to think outside of the box and to view one case from many different lenses.
When the class day ends at 12, you have the rest of the day to use how you see fit. So, some of my classmates do research, some of us shadow in the dental clinic, and some of us just use the time to prepare for the next day.
The thing that excites me most about HSDM is truly the people. I have the opportunity to learn from world-renowned faculty who are not only well-versed in their fields but are also genuinely passionate and dedicated to our learning. I've also created meaningful connections with my peers, and I form lifelong friendships with people whose values and goals are similar to that of my own.
My biggest piece of advice to pre-dentals is to increase your experience in the dental field, whether this is through shadowing or volunteering. This will help determine whether or not this is a good fit for you, and if it is, it will serve as experience that will help you through those difficult years in dental school and will help to remind you of the goals that you have for the future.
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