78 Photo Essay: Carolina Grace

Student, UAB School of Dentistry

Words by McKenzie Wade | Image by Blakeney Clouse

Dentist appointments are a normal, routine part of our lives. We go, not expecting much, hoping we will not receive a bad report. For Carolina Grace, a standard visit to the dentist would change the course of her life-—leading her down a path she never planned to be on.

After graduating from Walker High in 2014, Carolina enrolled at Bevill State Community College. “I chose to go to Bevill,” she explains. “I could stay at home and kind of get my ducks in a row.” 

While exploring options to major in, nothing seemed to click. Although Carolina is creative and enjoys the arts, she wasn’t sure how to incorporate that into a career. One day, as she left a dentist appointment during her freshman year, she realized dentistry would be a great choice.

After talking things over with her parents, Carolina was confident she had finally found the right path. The following year, she transferred to UAB, where she later received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry.

During her senior year, she began the stressful process of applying to highly competitive dental schools. “I applied to 12 schools and did not get into a single one,” Carolina says. 

She decided to take a couple of gap years, during which she worked, volunteered, and shadowed—all with the goal of adding to her experience and prepping to reapply.

In 2019, Carolina again began the application process, this time to 15 dental schools across the country. She was accepted at two different schools but chose to stick with her roots at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB). 

Today, Carolina is a dedicated dental student. Her day-to-day schedule is “pedal-to-the-metal,” but she should reap the fruits of her labor when she graduates in 2024. From there, she plans to specialize and further her education. 

Above all else, she is grateful to her parents, who she says have always encouraged her in all that she does. “My mom is my biggest cheerleader. My parents are my best friends,” she says. 

Carolina hopes to encourage other people who may have found themselves at an unexpected halt in their career plans. “It is okay if things don’t work out the first time around,” she says. “If you feel like what you have is something good, then just keep pushing.” 78