Lessons from the water

Riley Leslie, DDS ’28, has a pretty demanding job—but it’s one that’s prepared him for dentistry in surprising and unexpected ways.

Growing up in Cloquet, Minnesota, fishing and boating were common practices. A family connection helped Leslie get his foot in the door chartering boats from a young age. His grandfather’s cousin, John Dahl, and his brother, Peter, began Happy Hooker Charter in Duluth in 1976. At the time, it was the first and only charter boat on the North Shore.

Leslie began working with Jon on his boat, The Happy Hooker, in seventh grade. “I was first mating before I even had a driver’s license,” he recalled. It took a lot of work: getting a ride from his mom to the boat early in the morning, then sleeping in her car until she got off work and could take him home. But it was worth it.

“I was trying by any means necessary to get out on the boat, and go fishing,” he recalled. By his senior year of high school, Leslie was working nearly full time. When he was eighteen, Leslie received his Captain’s license and took over the boat. “We were out there every day, seven days a week from May until September” during Leslie’s college years, he recalled. “It was a very busy job, but I met so many people, saw some incredible things and learned a lot in a very quick amount of time.”

Leslie has run the charter under his own banner, 218 Sportfishing, for four summers, and feels accomplished as a captain and as a business owner. At the same time, he was preparing to pursue dentistry, after shadowing a friend’s dad. “I always wanted to be in a medical setting, but didn’t enjoy my hospital shadowing experience,” he reflected. “I liked the office culture of dentistry, and the work dentists did.”

As he begins dental school, Leslie will hand the reins of the charter over to a first mate who recently got his captain’s license—while still holding onto ownership of the boat and the company.

Though the two career paths may seem unrelated, Leslie sees how running a charter business has prepared him to excel in school and as a dentist in a variety of ways. Spending hours with a new group on the boat each day has taught Leslie personal skills. “You want to make conversation and help people have a good time, just like in the dental office,” he explained. “You want people to be comfortable, and I have a lot of experience with that.”

In addition to the business ownership skills Leslie has strengthened throughout his time in charge, he sees the way fishing has improved his hand dexterity—and knows that will come in handy with the intricate work of dentistry. “I was tying fishing knots every day, and using tools that really aren’t that different from what a dentist might use,” he explained. Having a natural tendency to work with his hands will prepare Leslie well to succeed in the clinic.

In his first year, Leslie looks forward to getting to know his classmates and their unique stories, exploring the city of Minneapolis and gaining expertise in oral health care.

Though he has a lot to learn, Leslie looks forward to the day he can return to northern Minnesota and give back to the community that helped him grow. “There is a high dental need in that area, and I’ve got so many relationships in the area already,” he shared.

And whether he continues chartering as he pursues other passions, Leslie will take the experience, the wisdom and the memories of his time on the water with him wherever he goes.