Penn Dental Medicine once again hosted a group of high school students this summer as part of Penn’s Provost Summer Mentorship Program (SMP), introducing them to career possibilities within dentistry and to the higher education environment.
This four-week, college-career immersion program aims to inspire first-generation and under-represented minority students in Philadelphia to view higher education as an achievable goal. Students participate with the five professional schools at Penn, which in addition to Penn Dental Medicine, include Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Law, Perelman School of Medicine, and School of Nursing. Penn Dental Medicine has been participating in the program since 2006, this year, hosting 12 students.
“This is an important pipeline program. A strong mentor and role model can play a vital role in encouraging students to pursue a college education and ultimately a dental career,” says Beverley Crawford, director of Diversity and Inclusion, whose office oversees the SMP at Penn Dental Medicine. “By interacting with our current dental students, participants can build mentoring relationships that last long beyond the program.”
Read more at Penn Dental Medicine.
