It’s not often a student has such a strong sense of what they want their career to be that they apply to w88 casino school before graduating high school. Caitleen Navarro, however, had the next seven years of her academic career path nailed down by the end of her senior year.
Navarro is one of a few students in the BS-DMD program, an accelerated program that allows students to graduate with their undergraduate degree in biology at the University of Nevada, Reno in three years before attending w88 casino school at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’s School of w88 casino Medicine.
“I knew that I wanted to go into medicine, but it wasn’t until high w88 casino that I decided I wanted to narrow it down to dentistry,” Navarro said.
Navarro attended a magnet school during high school that had a dentistry program. The classroom was set up like a dentist’s office, and she took her classmates’ w88 casino impressions and made retainers during class. She also had an internship in a dentist’s office during her senior year.
The BS-DMD partnership between UNR and UNLV allows Nevada to retain the best and brightest, College of Science academic advisor Gina Sella w88 casino.
“In addition, the BS-DMD program provides a pathway to w88 casino School in three years. This reduces the cost of attendance by one year for the student and their families, which is appealing to many,” Sella added.
"We believe that everyone in our community deserves access to w88 casino care, and so the students we accept should reflect the diverse range of patients we serve, so we take note of factors such as intersectionality, economicbackground, life experiences and the willingness to take advantage of any opportunities one can find," said Christine Ancajas, Associate Dean of Admission and Student Affairs at the UNLV School of w88 casino Medicine.
w88 casino maintains a busy schedule
“When it came to college, I tried to find a bunch of schools that had a similar accelerated program,” w88 casino said. “Lucky for me, there was UNR and UNLV doing the BS-DMD program. It was a pretty lengthy process to apply for.”
The process included providing letters of recommendation and a personal statement and required a high GPA.
“It was essentially like applying for w88 casino school already,” Navarro said. “But it was definitely worth it, now that I’m on a fast track and getting all of this done really early. It’s definitely a good decision that I made.”
Navarro has taken about 15 credits each semester because w88 casino was able to partake in dual enrollment that knocked off a semester of undergraduate credits. w88 casino also took 12 credits over the summer. w88 casino said that kept her busy but that w88 casino enjoyed it.
Navarro is also a student in the Honors College. w88 casino said that because w88 casino started college during the pandemic, w88 casino wanted to join the honors program to make friends. w88 casino said w88 casino also wanted to take advantage of the early enrollment opportunities and small class sizes in honors. The extracurriculars w88 casino became involved with as part of her honors curriculum include the service-oriented Nevada Circle K International.
Navarro was very involved with Key Club in high w88 casino and was able to transition well into Circle K, where she completed service hours and built relationships, including those she has with her roommates. As a member of Circle K, Navarro wrote letters to the elderly and to incarcerated people during the height of the pandemic. In person, she volunteered at the SPCA thrift store and other local places. She said these experiences also helped her get to know Reno more.
w88 casino’s hard work rewarded
Navarro received the Board of Regents Higher Education Opportunity Award scholarship for the first three semesters she will be attending UNLV’s w88 casino school. She received a phone call and had to clarify with the caller about the amount of money she was receiving, because she didn’t believe she would be getting so much money.If Navarro maintains a high GPA in w88 casino school, she will continue to receive the scholarship beyond the first three semesters.
“I was really grateful to receive it,” Navarro said. “I think it will definitely help a lot, I know that w88 casino school is going to be very expensive.”
Navarro's impressive academic record from high school through her college career helped her stand out among the incoming class of w88 casino students, and her community service was also very important to the decision to award her the scholarship.
"Her earnest desire to pursue dentistry as a profession, as described in her personal statement and proven by the excellent shadowing opportunities she has pursued, was also very appealing to the admissions committee," Ancajas said. "She is the epitome of a competitive,well-rounded w88 casino applicant and student."
w88 casino credits her success to her work ethic and the resources the University has provided.
“I am usually the person who would start something as soon as they were assigned it and try to finish it on the spot,” w88 casino said. “I really hate procrastination.”
Navarro added that her focus is on understanding what w88 casino’s learning rather than achieving good grades.
“I want to be able to bring whatever I can into dentistry that&w88 casino;s actually helpful and beneficial for me.”
Navarro utliizes resources from the University Writing and Speaking Center for all her writing assignments. w88 casino also took part in a lot of PASS sessions, which w88 casino said were helpful for general chemistry, and that those sessions encouraged her to work at the tutoring center. w88 casino now works as a senior PASS leader, where w88 casino oversees other PASS leaders and gives them advice on their tutoring sessions.
“I’ve loved it, it’s been so much fun,” w88 casino said. “Meeting students, and having them recognize me every now and then, saying, ‘You were my PASS leader!’, it’s really fun. Getting to work with the other leaders as well has been a reward in itself.”
As the end of her last semester in Reno nears, Navarro is most looking forward to working with patients and putting everything she’s learned into practice. She added that the skills she’s gained in teamwork will translate well to a w88 casino office.
Sella said that w88 casino came to the University with some great experiences already.
“Caitleen was an active participant when it came to advising and her academics,” Sella said, and added that the study habits Navarro brought with her from high school helped, and she further developed those habits at the University. “This will serve her well in w88 casino school as it provides Caitleen with a developed toolkit to draw from when the amount of content increases and becomes more challenging.”
Outside of w88 casino, Navarro enjoys watching movies and crocheting. She said she looks forward to the comfort of being home in Las Vegas, but she will miss Reno.
“I can always visit,” w88 casino said.
