As the saying goes, “A smile is worth a thousand words.” Rafah Hussain ’23 believes that a smile serves as a universal means of communication, crossing barriers including age, gender, class and language. “Being a part of restoring and caring for a smile that is worth so much to people is the reason why I love dentistry,” says Hussain. After learning about Hiram’s 3+4 Professional Scholars Program Hiram has with Case Western Reserve University’s (CWRU) School of Dental Medicine, Hussain was drawn to the College as CWRU has been her dream dental school since she was in high school.

One of Hussain’s favorite things about Hiram is the one-on-one time she receives from her professors. Having access to well-thought guidance has helped her when making decisions about classes, research, and general career advice. One memorable course she has taken at Hiram was Ecology. “Aside from my interests in dental medicine, I have always been someone who enjoys the outdoors and having our labs out at the field station was something that I really enjoyed in Ecology.” It was natural for Hussain to declare her major in biology because of her adoration for nature and science. “One thing that I like about the biology major at Hiram is that it focuses on biology holistically, rather than a career-driven approach. Through my major, I was able to take many science classes that were not necessarily directly related to my career of interest (such as Ecology and Intro to Neuroscience) but were fun classes to take to help expand my knowledge of science and see how it applies to other fields of study,” she says.

After Hiram, Hussain will be matriculating into CWRU’s Dental program in the fall of 2023 and is looking forward in starting her journey with dentistry. Eventually, she plans on using her clinic as a means for future pre-dentistry majors to come in and learn more about dentistry through shadowing. “Shadowing at various clinics made me realize how much I enjoy the patient-centered lifestyle of the profession and the problem-solving skills that the career requires,” says Hussain.

Overall, Hussain has found enrichment with her education at Hiram. “I am most proud of the work I was able to do with Student Senate last year as the Vice President of Administration specifically, the work we did towards improving campus involvement and minority inclusion,” she says. “Hiram has all the resources you need to be prepared for your next career steps after you graduate and  I think that what has changed the most for me over the years are the relationships I was able to make at Hiram through the leadership positions I had the opportunity to hold.”