Tyler James

UConn School of Dental Medicine

I am a half-Jamaican, half-Filipino American who was born in Laguna, Philippines and grew up in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. I spent fifteen years in Saudi Arabia before moving to California for high school. After graduating high school, I attended community college in California where I received an Associate of Arts in Social and Behavioral Sciences and an Associate of Arts in Chemistry. I then transferred to the University of Connecticut where I completed my bachelor’s degree in communication and fulfilled my prerequisite requirements for dental school.
I have tutored students affected with homelessness with the School on Wheels tutoring organization, served as a Transfer Peer Mentor at UConn, and been a member of the Collegiate Health Service Corps, which provides preventative healthcare lessons to underserved community members.
I sought involvement in the Urban Service Track/AHEC Scholars (UST/AS) Program because I believe in the necessity of physical and mental healthcare. As a woman of color, it disheartens me that there are many individuals like me who lack access to adequate care. Through the UST/AS Program, I want to improve access to healthcare for all, support my local community, and reduce healthcare disparities. Working as an AHEC Scholar is the first step in my overall plan to dedicate myself to community service in the dental field; I hope to use my platform as a healthcare provider to give back to the communities I’ve grown up with in Jamaica, the Philippines, and Connecticut.