Keynote to prospective dental students: ‘Trust the process’

Everyone in the School of Dentistry has a story about their decision to embark on a career in this field, and each one has a similar moment of truth — applying to dental school and then waiting (and waiting!) to be accepted. At a recent American Dental Education Association (ADEA) GoDental Jumpstart Event, assistant director of admissions Susie Wold delivered a keynote that urged prospective students to “trust the process” as they made their way through the steps that would lead to a successful career in dentistry.

This first-ever regional recruitment event, held in Cleveland, was aimed at first- and second-year undergraduate students. It featured representatives from the University and eight other schools: Case Western Reserve University, Creighton University, Indiana University, Kansas City University, University of Iowa, University at Buffalo, University of Detroit and the University of Pittsburgh. It was intended as a smaller, regional event to supplement the national recruitment event, held March 8 in National Harbor, Maryland.

In her remarks to attendees, Wold harkened back to her own days in graduate school, where she earned a masters in mental health counseling. “’A quote that we graduate students heard time and time again from our faculty was to ‘trust the process,’” she said, noting that “It’s the process, not the outcome, that’s most important.”

She outlined key elements of the dental school journey, including submitting applications, interviewing, onboarding, didactic coursework and preclinic, and she urged students to learn to take care of themselves at every stop along the way. “The self-care skills that you develop now, such as stress management, establishing healthy boundaries, time management and communication, will be essential to your success as a dental student down the road,” Wold said.

Also attending the event was Libby Isaacson, D3 ‘26. She noted that many of the predental students had a key takeaway relating to pre-application activities and work. “Activities don’t have to be specifically dental-related,” she said. “Jobs that allow you to work with people, like retail or customer service, are helpful in demonstrating ‘soft’ skills like empathy, compassion and resourcefulness. These skills are still so important as you treat patients, so they definitely are relevant for applications.”

Isaacson appreciated the helpful wisdom of Wold’s keynote, saying that it was accurate and helpful for predental students and current students, too. “Dental school is not an easy or quick journey, and trusting that everything will work out is an important — yet difficult — skill to master,” Isaacson said.