First-generation college student and doctoral graduate Felipe Martinez DDS ’26 aims to use his oral healthcare education to inspire others to see beyond their current limitations. GROWING UP IN ONTARIO, CALIF., Felipe Martinez DDS ’26 saw education as a gateway to a better life and greater opportunities. “My parents emphasized the importance of hard work, […]
As a child, Kimberlee Kiep Witthoft DDS ’26 eagerly looked forward to her dental appointments, where she found oral healthcare professionals who encouraged her to pursue her dream career. This Friday, that dream becomes a reality. FOR KIMBERLEE KIEP WITTHOFT DDS ’26, health care is a family calling: Her mother is a retired oncology nurse; […]
Before Driss Sammari had even begun his ASPID studies at Ostrow, his oral healthcare career had spanned several nations around the globe. Now, with a USC degree in hand, Sammari is ready to take his career to the next level. BY THE TIME DRISS SAMMARI DDS ’26 joined Ostrow as an ASPID student in 2024, […]
A mother of three, Osiolelume Uloko DDS ’26 crossed continents and oceans to earn her American DDS degree through Ostrow’s ASPID program. OSIOLELUME ULOKO HAD FELT THIS BEFORE. Not because of palm trees or an urban skyline looming in the distance, but because of the way a university could wrap itself around a community and […]
Powered by her Ostrow experience, Heliya Ziaei is well positioned to blend research and patient care as a clinician-scientist. THOUGH HELIYA ZIAEI PhD ’26 ARRIVED at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC in 2022 facing formidable challenges — namely, adjusting to life in a new country upon relocating from her native Iran — […]
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 […]
