Erica Mallon

UConn School of Dental Medicine

I am originally from Madison, CT and moved to Milford, CT during college. I attended college at Villanova University, where I received my bachelor’s degree in biochemistry.  

I spent my gap year doing a year of service with AmeriCorps, where I helped to teach science to eighth and ninth graders at a charter school in Wilmington, DE. My service included working as a teacher’s assistant, helping coach afterschool sports and clubs, supporting school dances and graduations, and more. I was also a part of the Villanova Service-Learning Community for three years, as both a member and later a facilitator helping to lead new members in the community. I have spent three years volunteering as an English tutor with a nonprofit organization called Paper Airplanes, which aims to help conflict-affected individuals develop their skills in English.  

I want to be a part of UST so that I can integrate my passion for service with my passion for dentistry to help expand healthcare access to underserved populations while working in an interprofessional setting. I expect that participating in UST will allow me to develop critical knowledge and skills in working with vulnerable patient populations and teach me how I can better serve populations that experience health disparities. I hope that with this knowledge, I will be able to better understand my patients in the context of their lives so that I can provide them with the best possible care as a dentist.