Lauren Dulieu

UConn School of Dental Medicine, Class of 2018

I grew up in Cranston, Rhode Island, a fairly large city just outside of Providence. I graduated from Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts in 2013 with a B.S. in Biology. During my senior year of college, I spent a week serving the migrant farm worker population in Coachella, CA as part of an affordable housing project. My most vivid memory of the trip was meeting young children in an after school program, where I noticed that nearly half the children had stainless steel crowns on their teeth. I also met one child who did not have any access to dental treatment and as a result had severely decayed teeth at the age of six years old. I could not believe that the oral health of young children had been compromised to this extent and I recognized the privilege that I had taken for granted my entire life. This further kindled my passion for not only providing healthcare access to underserved populations, but also educating children and their families about preventative dentistry. Through the Urban Service Track, I hope to grow as a healthcare provider through teaching patients and providing them with the knowledge that maintaining good oral health is an important part of a person’s overall well-being. I was drawn to UST by its focus on the immigrant population, but I am also looking to expanding my knowledge about the other underserved populations within the United States.