MHA Pathway to Dentistry student, John Ramirez, was featured in the School of Dental Medicine's September 5th, 2025 newsletter, highlighting 1st year dental students and their motivation to pursue dental medicine.  The article written by Carrie Printz is titled Students Share Why They Felt Drawn to Dentistry. The feature on John Ramirez is available below.

From Dental Assisting to South America to DDS

Growing up in Tucson, Arizona, John Ramirez was raised in a welding and construction family for whom working with their hands was a way of life. Although he’s now learning how to use his hands for an entirely different purpose, he still taps into those skills.

Dentistry, Ramirez said, is “the perfect blend of hands-on work, medicine, service and work-life balance.”

After working as a dental assistant, John Ramirez decided to become a dentist through the MHA Pathway to Dentistry Program.

“After undergrad at the University of Central Arkansas, I worked as a dental assistant for a year and fell in love with all aspects of dentistry,” he said. “Then I gave two years of my life to serving impoverished communities in South America and discovered that service needed to be at the center of my future career."

He entered CU SDM through the MHA Pathway to Dentistry Program, which provides academic professional preparation and a pathway for underrepresented students. The program enables students to complete an M.S. in Modern Human Anatomy in their first year and transition into the DDS curriculum in the fall of their second year.

A new father who has lived in Colorado with his wife for the past several years, Ramirez was impressed by CU SDM’s commitment to serving local communities and working with cutting-edge dental technologies.

Earning his white coat symbolizes “the beginning of a long and fruitful career serving others through dentistry.”