Graduating class officers reflect on service, impact

As the Class of 2024 prepares to graduate and begin their careers, students who have taken on leadership roles will be leaving their own legacies behind.

Each School of Dentistry class elects a president and two vice presidents to advocate for the class, serve as a point of contact with administration and act a role models for fellow learners. As they approach their graduation, we spoke with representatives from the DDS, Dental Therapy and Dental Hygiene Class of 2024 about their experience.

DDS Class of 2024

Shannon Beaulieu, president; Grace Eang, vice president; Stuart Jones, vice president

What is your role, and why did you decide to serve as a class officer? 

Beaulieu: We act as the liaison between student, administration and faculty, so we collaborate to make the most productive and successful experience for students. We are the main point of contact for student concerns, so any change we want to see starts with us. 

Eang: I think there’s always room for improvement. I hoped to try and continue to improve our experience.

Jones: My goal was to support our students and improve transparency between faculty, leadership and students.

When you reflect on your time as a student and officer, what are you most proud of? 

Eang: We worked throughout our time to know the Outreach schedule sooner, and that’s something that has been implemented and will make a big difference for the students who come after us. 

Beaulieu: I was vice-president during my first two years, which were during the height of COVID-19, so I’m proud of how our class has been able to get along and support one another, even though we started by not seeing each other. We weren’t even in the classroom together with half our classmates until our second year, but we were still very close. 

Jones: I’ve enjoyed providing mentorship to other students. Students in the third year class have reached out to us with questions, and we’ve been able to provide direction. That’s been meaningful for me. 

If you could share one message with your classmates, what would it be?

Eang: I’m thankful for everyone I’ve met here. I’m thankful for everyone in our class. I think everyone brings something to the table, and it’s been so fun to get to do these four years with them.

Jones: In short: you’ve got this. From here on out, everything’s easier, everything’s better. We have the base, and you’ve worked super hard for this—so everything you get now, you deserve.

Beaulieu: It’s been such an honor and a privilege to be a representative for this class. It’s something I’ll never take for granted, and I’ll remember this for the rest of my life. And it’s all thanks to our wonderful class for making this into something awesome that we all wanted to do, very willingly. 

After graduation, Beaulieu will be doing a one-year General Practice Residency in Virginia before serving with the US Navy. Jones will be working in practice in the Twin Cities, and Eang will be in the University of Minnesota’s Orthodontics residency program. 

Dental Therapy Class of 2024

Kaitlyn Niemann, president

What is your role, and why did you decide to serve as a class officer? 

I decided I wanted to serve as our class president because I wanted to support my classmates and be someone that my classmates could approach for anything they needed. In addition to this,  I wanted to have the ability to make positive change within our program. Education is an ever-changing field and I wanted to possess the ability to have direct change for my classmates, myself and future dental therapy students. 

When you reflect on your time as a student and officer, what are you most proud of? 

I think I am most proud of how much I have grown and learned through these last 3 years. I think it is somewhat obvious to know that you will change as a person year after year but I have grown in strides from the individual I have become but also the provider I have become. I truly believe that I would not be who I am today without completing this program. 

If you could share one message with your classmates, what would it be?

I hope my classmates know just how much of an impact they have truly had on me. My classmates have supported me in ways that people outside of our program will never understand. This program has made us a family and I am so thankful for each and every one of them. Most importantly, I hope they know that they will always have me in the corner rooting for all of their achievements. 

After graduation, Niemann will be practicing at an office in Andover, MN.

Dental Hygiene Class of 2024

Emily Vu, vice president; Christy Ngo, vice president

What is your role, and why did you decide to serve as a class officer? 

Ngo: I was interested in serving as a class officer because of my previous experience as a badminton captain in high school. Some of my responsibilities included creating drill routines, planning fundraisers, and educating my team on techniques or strategies. I especially enjoyed developing fundraisers and wanted to create fun events for the DH4 class.

Vu: I decided to serve as a class officer because I thought it would be a fun role to be a part of the representation of my class. I thought it was a unique opportunity to connect with both the logistics of the School of Dentistry and my hygiene classmates. I learned a lot about the behind the scenes of what the school is involved in and how I can be a voice for the dental hygiene class as an officer.

When you reflect on your time as a student and officer, what are you most proud of? 

Ngo: I'm most proud of my growth and development into becoming a dental hygienist. Before entering the program, I had a vague idea about what I would learn and do during my time here. This included turning over rooms and completing prophys. Now, I know that dental hygienists can do much more than this. This includes charting, educating, scaling and root planing, taking radiographs, administering local anesthetic, etc. At the beginning, I felt that these procedures were extremely difficult to do, but over time I've been able to become much more confident in completing them. My biggest motivator is patient satisfaction and building rapport with patients. It feels great to see your previous patients you've cared for or hearing that they want to see you again. I think that many of my classmates feel the same and I’m so proud to see their growth to becoming wonderful hygienists as well. Although there were many things that we thought were impossible to do, we prevailed and overcame our adversities.

Vu: Looking back at my time in the program, I am most proud of my classmates, the relationships we built together, and the skills we have learned. It is crazy to see how much we learned in such a short period of time. As a class, it was great to learn by side each other and lean on each other when we needed it.

If you could share one message with your classmates, what would it be?

Ngo: For your future patients, always keep in mind that although it is a normal day at work for you, it is a big day in their life. Your non-verbal cues and tone of voice can alter their perceptions of the dental clinic. Patients may feel anxious or scared, but this does not mean they are all the time. It is crucial that we, as dental providers, create a comfortable and safe space for everyone.

Vu: One message that I would want to share with my class is how proud I am to see how far all of us have come. It is exciting to see the end of the tunnel as a class as we have experienced so much together. I am so grateful to have such a supportive class to finish the program with. It is bittersweet to get to the end of our program and it is exciting to see where all my classmates will end up in the near future.

After graduation, Ngo plans to work in a nonprofit public dental office based in the downtown metro area. Vu hopes to begin work as a hygienist within the Twin Cities metro.