David Shon is an Emory alumnus who graduated in 2019 with a double major in Biology and Sociology. He is preparing to apply to dental school in the 2021 matriculation cycle.
We had a chance to sit down with David and ask him a few questions about his pre-health journey.
What have been impactful events that have led you to this pre-health/dental track?
I did not always want to become a dentist. As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a firefighter, a pilot, a policeman, or perhaps even a combination of all three…
As a pastor’s son, I realized as time passed by that I certainly did not want to become a pastor like my father. Growing up, we could not afford to have that Nintendo Gameboy that Moses across the street had, or that shiny, black Xbox that I always played at Andrew’s house. I vowed to myself that I would become a doctor or become really rich one day, so that I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to.
I always had bad, crooked teeth growing up. To be honest, I never really thought about my teeth until sixth grade, when some people in my middle school made fun of my teeth. It didn’t help that I was one of the only few Asian students at my school, and I soon was known as “the Asian kid with crooked teeth.” I soon became really self-conscious and really wanted to get braces to fix my teeth. However, my family’s financial situation wasn’t great and getting braces at the time was not an option. Just when I thought I would have crooked teeth for the rest of my childhood, I met Dr. Salvatore Migliore.
Dr. Miglore was a retired orthodontist in his seventies. My family was introduced to Dr. Migliore through a church member, and when he heard about my situation, he was more than happy to do my orthodontic treatment at no cost. Surprisingly, Dr. Migliore was also a pastor’s son and he also knew the struggles of growing up in a pastor’s family. Every month for the next two years, I visited had a visit with Dr. Migliore to adjust my braces. I was always thrilled to talk to Dr. Migliore and develop a lasting relationship with someone who would eventually become my role model. The fact that he came out of retirement to help my family out was extraordinary and inspiring; he and his acts of kindness now serve as the primary reason for my unequivocal passion for dentistry. Slowly but surely, my smile as well as my confidence was restored.
Meeting Dr. Migliore has undoubtedly been one of the greatest events that has ever happened to me. He not only fixed my teeth at no cost, but more importantly also instilled in me a great passion for dentistry, to one day become someone just like him. Dr. Migliore taught me the importance of benevolence and helping the underprivileged. After meeting Dr. Migliore, I knew that my ultimate goal in life was to become a person who is able to provide and give back to those who need it, just as he taught me. One day, I want to be able to help those in need directly, as a dentist, and with a great smile, completely waive the cost of a dental operation just as Dr. Migliore did for me.
As a pastor’s son, I realized as time passed by that I certainly did not want to become a pastor like my father. Growing up, we could not afford to have that Nintendo Gameboy that Moses across the street had, or that shiny, black Xbox that I always played at Andrew’s house. I vowed to myself that I would become a doctor or become really rich one day, so that I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to.
I always had bad, crooked teeth growing up. To be honest, I never really thought about my teeth until sixth grade, when some people in my middle school made fun of my teeth. It didn’t help that I was one of the only few Asian students at my school, and I soon was known as “the Asian kid with crooked teeth.” I soon became really self-conscious and really wanted to get braces to fix my teeth. However, my family’s financial situation wasn’t great and getting braces at the time was not an option. Just when I thought I would have crooked teeth for the rest of my childhood, I met Dr. Salvatore Migliore.
Dr. Miglore was a retired orthodontist in his seventies. My family was introduced to Dr. Migliore through a church member, and when he heard about my situation, he was more than happy to do my orthodontic treatment at no cost. Surprisingly, Dr. Migliore was also a pastor’s son and he also knew the struggles of growing up in a pastor’s family. Every month for the next two years, I visited had a visit with Dr. Migliore to adjust my braces. I was always thrilled to talk to Dr. Migliore and develop a lasting relationship with someone who would eventually become my role model. The fact that he came out of retirement to help my family out was extraordinary and inspiring; he and his acts of kindness now serve as the primary reason for my unequivocal passion for dentistry. Slowly but surely, my smile as well as my confidence was restored.
Meeting Dr. Migliore has undoubtedly been one of the greatest events that has ever happened to me. He not only fixed my teeth at no cost, but more importantly also instilled in me a great passion for dentistry, to one day become someone just like him. Dr. Migliore taught me the importance of benevolence and helping the underprivileged. After meeting Dr. Migliore, I knew that my ultimate goal in life was to become a person who is able to provide and give back to those who need it, just as he taught me. One day, I want to be able to help those in need directly, as a dentist, and with a great smile, completely waive the cost of a dental operation just as Dr. Migliore did for me.
What was the most difficult part of your path to pre-dental?
The most difficult part of my path to being pre-dental is undoubtedly the work and dedication needed to apply to dental school. I’m certain that dental school will be difficult- most definitely harder than anything I’ve ever had to experience so far. Being pre-health requires a lot of dedication and hard work. This includes research, shadowing, volunteering, and other various work for many years. For me, however, it wasn’t the individual work that was difficult, but rather the collection of all the consistent hard work. You can’t just volunteer or shadow or do research for a couple weeks and end it there- they must be done throughout the period of a couple years for you to get any meaningful experience from them and show your dedication toward whatever field you want to dedicate yourself to. To me, that was the most difficult part of being pre-dental.
I think that knowing the people who have helped me through my journey, those same people’s help, dedication, and sacrifice, and most importantly my passion for dentistry that has been derived from those people.
What do you wish you knew 5 years ago/wish you knew something entering/during college?
I wish that I knew how to study and had the studying habits that I have now. Coming to Emory from high school, I was not prepared for the pre-dental/pre-med workload. At my high school, I never really had a tough time in all of my classes- I did study, but nothing like the studying I needed to do at Emory. My study habits eventually became better during my junior year, and I wish that I had those same study skills and habits that I developed during my freshman and sophomore years.
Yes- Dr. Migliore, who I have discussed previously.
What is the best advice you could give someone pursuing the same track as you?
My advice is to find your passion and follow that passion as you work hard to achieve it. If there is no passion or meaning behind why you want to pursue a dream or goal, it will become easy to get side-tracked and quit in the middle of it. Pre-health is difficult- there will always be challenges and adversities that you will experience. For me, if I did not have a clear motivation or passion that helped me throughout the past couple years, I might not have been where I am now. Best thing that has happened to you after graduating on the pre-dental track?
The best thing that has happened after graduating from Emory was working at Mustard Seed Pediatric Dentistry. I started working at my current dental office on July of 2019 and my experiences while working here have been really amazing. Working with children itself was a huge change, but also the type of treatments and procedures has also been eye-opening. I’ve seen many children that are really cute and do really well during their cleanings/treatments as well as other children who scream and cry endlessly while taking x-rays. I’ve been able to observe children undergo treatments through laughing gas, IV sedations, and oral conscious sedations. Moreover, while at Mustard Seed, I’ve also been able to understand the front-office side of a dental office, acting as a liaison between insurance companies and patients, going over treatment plans, and understanding the importance of the ins-and-outs of a dental office, from a healthcare and a business perspective.