When she was exploring dental schools, Destiny Schmitz, DDS ’24, decided to stay close to home—and she quickly fell in love.
Schmitz wanted to attend a quality dental school, and the University of Minnesota fit the bill for her. Throughout her experience, she has been impressed by excellence in the classroom and the clinic.
“Clinical excellence is a space where the University of Minnesota stands out,” she said. “We are held to strong expectations before moving into clinic. This means the transition from pre-clinic to clinic can be challenging, but being able to fall back on your clinical expertise makes the transition much smoother.”
In addition to the clinical excellence, Schmitz appreciated the opportunity to explore specialties and find her niche.
“Because we have all of the specialties available at the school, we get to experience as much as we want to when deciding what path we want to take after graduation,” she said. “In my experience, I enjoyed a little bit of everything from the specialties. This led me to a career path of general dentistry.”
When Schmitz becomes a general practitioner after graduation, she will bring fond memories of her supportive, close-knit community with her.
“Helping others is a part of dentistry, and that has been a big part of my experience at the School of Dentistry, from community outreach to class collaboration,” she said. “There are many great things about the University of Minnesota, but my favorite is my class environment. We are collaborative, not competitive, and that makes the hardest parts of school much easier.”
INVOLVEMENT
Pre-dental co-chair, American Student Dental Association
Social Chair, Delta Sigma Delta Dental Fraternity
Student Ambassador
HOMETOWN
Farmington, MN