Katherine Jerome

UConn School of Dental Medicine, Class of 2015

Background: I was born in Townshend, Vermont but was raised in St. John, United States Virgin Islands, only to come back to Vermont for high school and college. I graduated in May 2010 from the University of Vermont with a major in Biology and minors in Chemistry and Studio Art.

Related Experience: After graduating I spent another year in Burlington, Vermont working as a paraeducator and an afterschool homework help instructor at a public elementary school. There was an eclectic mix of students that had different learning styles, different socioeconomic class, and were originally from different countries. In fact, a lot of Burlington residents are actually refugees from war torn countries that are participating in resettlement programs like Somalia, Sudan, Kenya, and Burma. That year alone I was exposed to and able to work with so many different type of people, students and teachers alike, and have been through training regarding autism, English Language Learners ( ELL), oppositional defiant disorder, and behavioral disorders.

I am interested in UST because I want to start making connections and making myself available to underserved populations early in my dental education career. The UST will enable me to give back to the community and stay humble while connecting with other healthcare professionals to ensure optimum care for a patient, which is my ultimate goal as a future dentist.