I was born and raised in a fishing village in Malaysia until 2013, when I moved to the United States. Over the last four years, I have completely immersed myself in English and American society and culture and now feel a part of our multicultural society. I feel strongly that my origins will help me become a humble, compassionate dentist. My humble beginnings translate into my profound passion for helping the underserved, recent immigrants who occupy the sectors of our society that are most vulnerable. I understand how language barriers and poverty can often hinder people from getting medical or dental assistance; thus, as a practicing dentist, I will provide free translation and insurance application services once I realize the dream of owning and operating my clinic.
I currently also work as a hospice volunteer. One of my patients recently said, "I wish I could take you to heaven..." I tried to remain stoic and continued giving her massage therapy on her purplish left hand, hiding that I was sobbing deeply. My patient’s eyes were soothing despite being drenched as they were by the pain of chronic cancer and loneliness. It was not until the third visit that she let me into her house to be with her. She let me into her heart by telling me the most intimate life stories during this time. I am glad that I did not give up on her and had the opportunity to comfort her just before she passed away. This represents one of the crowning achievements of my life, of which I am most grateful and proud. This experience speaks to the determination that I seek to bring to dental school, always going that extra mile.
I have proven my determination to achieve noble ideals by excelling in my studies and winning college writing competitions. I was a motivational speaker at college events, including a scholarship reception at the President of the College of Staten Island residency. In my speeches, I often suggest that poverty should not necessarily be a hindrance to success. My father instilled perseverance - he was a fisherman and my principal role model. Despite rampant piracy and destructive typhoon seasons on the Straits of Malacca, he continued to go fishing to support a family of six. After his night shifts, he often sacrificed his sleep to drive me to my sponsored orthodontics treatments at the closest dental clinic an hour away from our village. The sound of his old motorbike on the way to the clinic always admonished me to fight for a better quality of life for my family someday. Becoming a dentist is not only a personal aspiration but also a major source of pride for a fisherman's daughter and a first-generation immigrant from Malaysia.
Primarily, due to my orthodontic treatment, I decided to pursue a career in dentistry. I like how dentistry takes advantage of my most excellent abilities or gifts, such as empathizing with others and my commitment to helping people. Dentistry also incorporates my passion for multi-disciplinary studies and fine art in small spaces. As a multi-disciplinary computer programming, biology, and business student, I learned to present my research findings to people from many different fields. This practical communication skill can also be critical to explaining dental procedures to patients. In my professional position as a Dental Assistant, I am especially fond, for example, of using the Minnesota retractor, a tool used to hold the patient's mouth open. This was the first dental instrument introduced to me by Dr. XXXX on my first day. The retractor allowed me to look into a patient's mouth for the first time and broadened my horizons in dentistry. I sometimes call the X-ray room Disneyworld and tell the kids to pretend to be Anna and stay frozen until I press the X-ray button to soothe and distract them with their best-loved story from the movie Frozen.
Although I detest pirates since they once besieged my father’s fishing boat, I found myself sewing a pirate doll with my hospice patient. Impending death did not prevent my patient from making the pirate doll with me, the pirates did not deter my dad from fishing in the ocean, and nothing will discourage me from my dream of becoming a dentist.
Fishing Village in Malaysia to Dental School in USA
