Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. 

          For my STEP Signature Project, I completed a course at the Columbus Academy of Dental Assisting to become a certified dental assistant. I did this by attending lectures at the academy and participating in labs where we would do dental procedures. Throughout this course, I was able to learn about the day-in-the-life of a dentist and also learn about the different dental fields.

What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? 

          By the time I finished my STEP Signature Project, I realized that I went through a personal transformation. At first, I didn’t really think anything changed. My view of the world was the same and my assumptions of the dental industry were confirmed. However, with more reflection, I realized that I underwent a huge personal development; I had gained self-confidence. I realized that I went through this transformation because I was more excited to participate in life and its experiences. I was more excited to participate in my courses. I was more excited to find new hobbies and meet new people because I started to trust myself and my actions. 

What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? 

          To have this transformational experience, I gained confidence by participating in labs, interacting with faculty, learning the material and testing well on the material. First off, I am a firm believer that practice makes perfect. This is why learning the material and testing well on it are great starts to building confidence. It can be very overwhelming to introduce yourself to a professional community while not really knowing anything about it. That is why it is important to do research about the community and know what the day-in-the-life is like. By learning more about the dental industry through coursework, I was able to feel confidently that I would be able to tackle the material presented in dental school and introduce myself to the dental community.

          I also gained confidence by my interactions with faculty at the academy. A lot of the faculty at the Columbus Academy of Dental Assisting have been dental assistants for a long time. This means that they have experienced the highs and lows when it comes to dealing with the dental industry and patients. With their guidance, I was able to become more familiar with dealing with patients (an area that I was timid about before entering the program). They also told me that it’s okay to make mistakes, even when you are with a patient. Of course you want to establish the best experience you can with a patient, but sometimes that is not the way things work. There are a lot of unknowns in dentistry so it is important to do your best and trust yourself and your actions. 

          Lastly, I believe having hands-on experience in the lab allowed me to gain confidence. Before I started the program, I was really afraid about performing the procedures in the course. This is because I didn’t trust myself with the well-being of other people. I was afraid that I would mess up or forget something important in the procedure that would affect the patient. But, by performing certain actions on typodonts and then, on other students at the academy, I became proficient with the procedures. By being proficient, I was able to gain self-confidence when performing on patients and also adaptable for the needs of the patient.

Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? 

          This change is significant because it will allow me to pursue my passions with more confidence. Before undergoing this course, I was unsure if I had what it took to be a dentist. I was unsure if I could handle the course material in dental school and I was really unsure if I would be able to protect and care for patients. By having trust in myself, I can confidently say that I have what it takes to not only become and be a dentist, but also pursue other passions in my life. This is because I know I am capable of doing hard things. Whether it is taking hard classes, interacting with people, or pursuing other interests like solo traveling. I am capable of pursuing my goals in life and fulfilling them.