Winter 2012-13 - College of Dental Medicine - Columbia University

students
Profile: Dominick Ambroise ’14
As a youngster, Dominick Ambroise was shy because
he was so tall for his age, but it was the prominent gaps in
his teeth that really embarrassed him. Dominick's confidence
finally began to grow when he received good
orthodontic treatment and, at last, he could smile without
being self-conscious. The turning point had such an
immense effect on his life that Dominick decided to
become a dentist himself, even though his Haitian family
wanted him to be a physician.
Encouraged by his mother, a talented computer scientist,
to believe he could achieve any goal he desired, Dominick
graduated from high school with an average in the 90s and
high honors. Accepted by several of the best universities
in the country, he chose Rutgers, where he received the
James Dickson Carr Scholarship for minority applicants
with outstanding academic promise. Determination and
natural abilities soon placed him on the dean's list,
followed by academic successes throughout his undergraduate
years. Dominick also played cymbals in the university
band, was a consultant in the computer lab, and a science
tutor for other students. As a senior, he coached eight students
preparing for the Dental Admission Test (DAT), and
oversaw a student seeking to do graduate work in optometry.
Because he ranked in the 98th DAT percentile, Dominick
could have entered top programs in dentistry throughout
the country. Nevertheless, he turned them down, including
Harvard's School of Dentistry, to study at Columbia's
College of Dental Medicine, where he saw a heterogeneous
student body creating a place of vibrant culture.
A leader in diversity affairs programs at Rutgers, Dominick
continues to invest his time at CDM in helping underrepresented
minorities realize their academic goals. He is
vice president of the University's SNDA chapter for minority
students, and last summer taught organic chemistry and
biology to a group of dental-directed students in
Columbia's introductory Summer Minority Dental
Education Program (SMDEP).
Dominick believes that science "is a way of learning about
people. It [research] is my passion," he says, but adds,
"I feel in many ways I'm really more of a social scientist."
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