"Throughout my life, I have always enjoyed working with my hands, being creative, learning new things, and helping others. All these things fit perfectly into a career in dentistry."
Name: Cole Mooring
Program/Year: Master of Science in Precision Medicine 2024, Doctor of Dental Medicine 2025
Hometown: St. George, Utah
Undergraduate degree: Dixie State University, B.S. in Biology with a minor in Chemistry.
What inspired you to pursue a healthcare career?
I have always desired to pursue a career in something that would allow me to help people and make a difference. It wasn’t until my experiences with my orthodontist and shadowing some local dentists in high school that I decided to pursue dentistry. I loved seeing the difference that having a nice smile made in my life and loved watching other people’s lives change as they improved their oral health. Once I chose dentistry, I knew I could truly help people and make a difference while enjoying my career all at the same time. Having this desire to help people and give them the best personalized care possible is what also helped me decide to enroll in the Precision Medicine Program while attending dental school. Both programs have helped shape me into the future dentist that I want to be.
How did your background and history factor into your career choice?
I am the first member of my family to pursue a healthcare career. Throughout my life, I have always enjoyed working with my hands, being creative, learning new things, and helping others. All these things fit perfectly into a career in dentistry. During high school, I spent a lot of time shadowing a dentist at my local Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), and I saw the difference he made in those patients’ lives, as most of them had not had much access to oral healthcare. Seeing those patients get out of pain, improve their oral health, and have more confidence in themselves after improving their smiles is what inspired me to pursue a career in dentistry.
Why did you decide to attend ³ûÄñÊÓƵ?
I chose ³ûÄñÊÓƵ purely based on the reputation it has earned. I heard nothing but amazing things about ³ûÄñÊÓƵ. On multiple occasions, while shadowing dentists in undergrad, I was told to apply to ³ûÄñÊÓƵ. The dentists I was shadowing had friends who had attended ³ûÄñÊÓƵ and raved about the program and the amount of experience they got here. These dentists stated that if they had to go back and reapply to dental school, they would apply to ³ûÄñÊÓƵ. I followed their advice and was thoroughly impressed with the program and faculty I interacted with during my interview. The same was true when I decided to apply for the Precision Medicine Program; I was impressed with the faculty and knew I would learn many valuable and applicable things.
What about a ³ûÄñÊÓƵ education do you want to carry forward in your career?
³ûÄñÊÓƵ has been an amazing place to attend dental school and the Precision Medicine Program. The faculty have been the absolute best and I have felt well-prepared to enter my future career. The mentoring and desire to help others that I have seen from all my faculty here at ³ûÄñÊÓƵ is a huge thing that I want to continue into my future career. Throughout my career, I want to continue to learn, improve, give back, and share knowledge with others. The knowledge that I have gained from both the Dental and Precision Medicine Programs will be a great asset to me in achieving my goal of helping others and making a difference.
