Los Angeles native and Ostrow student Somkene Okafor-Okwuego receives U.S. Public Health Service Dental Award of Excellence for her efforts to boost oral public health in L.A.

FOR SOMKENE OKAFOR-OKUWEGO ’21, MS ’22, DDS ’26, four years of bridging gaps to oral health care access for underserved populations hasn’t gone unnoticed.

In fact, Okafor-Okwuego’s devoted efforts across her four years as a DDS student at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC has sparked prestigious national recognition.

The U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) recently honored Okafor-Okwuego with its Dental Award of Excellence. The national honor celebrates graduating dental school students with a demonstrated commitment to public health dentistry who also exemplify the USPHS’s core values of leadership, service, integrity and excellence.

“The award brought warmth to my heart and is further encouragement I can make a difference in the lives of others,” Okafor-Okwuego says.

Focusing on Service

The Los Angeles native was a fitting candidate for the honor given her commitment to public health dentistry, which she carried out in a variety of nonprofit clinics and community-based programs throughout her time in dental school.

Soon after arriving at Ostrow, for instance, Okafor-Okwuego became involved with the USC Dental Clinic at Union Rescue Mission (URM) on L.A.’s Skid Row. The eight-chair clinic provides emergency and comprehensive dental services to URM residents and other Angelenos experiencing homelessness.

Okafor-Okwuego served as a general URM member for two years, caring for adults with significant unmet dental needs and limited access to treatment. She then assumed a core leadership role, including becoming the Class of 2026 representative, in which she helped organize student coverage and support at the URM-based dental clinic while also providing direct care at the Angeles House Family Center, a URM-affiliated facility offering safe housing and support services to nearly 90 unsheltered families.

“URM was so special because the focus was on service and getting people the help they need,” Okafor-Okwuego says. “There was no burning stress of denying people treatment because they couldn’t pay.”

But Okafor-Okwuego’s devotion to oral public health extended far beyond her efforts at URM. She volunteered at community events across Los Angeles, from teaching oral hygiene to children and sharing practical guidance with families at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books to conducting dental caries risk assessments and distributing oral hygiene tools at the annual Día de los Muertos celebration hosted by L.A.’s 24th Street Theatre.

Giving Back to the Community That Raised Me

Okafor-Okwuego says working in these community settings delivered an “important reality check” that intensified her commitment to public health in marginalized populations.

“In these environments, regular dental checkups have never been the reality, and access to health care is an ongoing challenge,” Okafor-Okwuego says. “Seeing this firsthand deepened my connection to service and helping those in need.”

As a National Health Service Corps scholar, Okafor-Okwuego will soon begin her four-year service commitment in a safety-net setting. Thereafter, she hopes to build a career centered on service and long-term community impact, perhaps even launching a mobile clinic to elevate access to dental care.

“I want to give back to the community that raised me,” Okafor-Okwuego says. “It will be so meaningful to help people lead more confident, healthy lives.”