Student tour cements dental dreams for educator

Photo credit: Dallas Independent School District

Texas A&M College of Dentistry’s mission is to educate those pursuing dental, dental hygiene, graduate and dental specialty degrees and serve the community by providing quality oral health care. Sometimes there’s someone in the community who so inspires us that we are compelled to share.

Simone Chandler, a teacher at Young Women’s STEAM Academy at Balch Springs in the Dallas Independent School District, toured A&M Dentistry when she was in eighth grade, and knew she wanted to become a dentist.

“It’s science, and it’s art,” she shared in an interview published yesterday by the DISD. “I get to make people happy and bring them out of discomfort. It’s my ultimate STEM dream.”

All dreams worth having come with hard work, and Chandler earned a strong foundation by attending DISD’s School of Health Professions Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center and earned a registered dental assistant certificate while there. In her interview, Chandler stated that teachers encouraged her plans to become both a dentist and a teacher.

Chandler worked for three years as a dental assistant for MINT dentistry, based in Dallas and founded by Dr. Field Harrison (Texas A&M Health Science Center Baylor College of Dentistry, Class of 2009). She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science from Sam Houston State University.

In the article, Chandler stated she strives to make science relatable and uses it to help her students become critical and ethical thinkers.She’s also preparing for the American Dental Association’s Dental Admissions Test with her eye on dental college.

Good luck, Ms. Chandler. Here’s hoping we will call you Dr. Chandler soon.