The Internship Experiment: Leah Pierce's Dentistry Internship
As any recent college graduate can confirm, job hunting isn’t easy. In today’s competitive market, a degree is no longer enough—employers want candidates with experience in their respective fields. For many college students, including MBU senior Leah Pierce, an internship has been a valuable way to obtain the experience needed for a successful future.
Right Place, Perfect Time
As a Biology: Pre-Medical student approaching the end of her college career, Pierce knew an internship would be critical to her future career. Even though just about any internship boosts a resume, field-specific internships are the most valuable because they help answer the question “Is this really what I want to do with my life?” Given her interest in dentistry (specifically, oral pathology), she decided a dental internship would be a logical step for her.
Grove Dental Associates in Downers Grove, Illinois, was her first choice for an internship. As she discovered, however, this position wasn’t easy to get.
“I actually applied for this internship for four years in a row. I only got in this year,” Pierce said. “They [Grove Dental] wanted applicants with experience. So for me to get in this year was incredible.”
From Technician to Assistant
Initially, Pierce joined the team as the sterile processing technician. Her job involved keeping track of different tools and using the Bravo machine to sterilize them properly.
The best internships, however, provide opportunities to do more than what’s assigned. They’re a chance to develop professional relationships and gain as much experience as possible. Pierce’s coworkers suggested she take on the responsibilities of being an orthodontist assistant in addition to her current role. With their help, she landed the position and started learning.
“Basically, as an orthodontist assistant, I got to learn how to put rubber bands, ligature ties, brackets, glue, and wiring on the braces,” Pierce explained. “Only the doctor could actually adjust the braces and tighten the wiring. But we assistants were allowed to do anything else besides the adjusting and tightening.”
A Grounded Future
Besides learning the various facets of operating a dental clinic, Pierce also grew more comfortable working with people of backgrounds and beliefs very different from her own.
Within the scientific realm in particular, Christians often find it challenging to maintain their faith. “It is hard to be a Christian and to work in a secular science field,” Pierce acknowledged. And while it is difficult to be in the religious minority in a workplace, the values of integrity, diligence, and truth that are inherent to the Christian faith are what will set her apart in her future career.
Her experiences in the dental clinic were certainly valuable, but Pierce believes her calling is in the laboratory. “I actually want to be the pathologist that studies the viruses and germs from the tissue samples that dentists will send to the lab,” she shared. “And with this internship, I have built a rapport with the dentists and know what their field of work is like so that I know how to complement it if I were to work in the lab.”
Experience and Experiment
With so many options available to science majors—researching, practicing medicine, teaching—internships can be a vital part of narrowing the list to one field of pursuit. They’re a commitment, but they’re also an experiment that helps students of science figure out which careers would work for them.
“Don’t feel locked down with what you want to do. Go out of your comfort zone and experience what you want to do,” Pierce advised. “Be open-minded, but be realistic too – some internships don’t pay at all.”
Even so, experiences can’t be bought. The value of an internship isn’t in its tangible benefits, but in the growth that occurs when students like Leah Pierce take opportunities to mature in their field.