Future dentist: BGSU pre-professional program prepares student for dental school

Senior Lindsey Berschbach received dedicated support and a detailed plan to follow

From the moment Lindsey Berschbach enrolled at Bowling Green State University, she followed a detailed plan to achieve her next educational milestone: acceptance into dental school.

As a biology major following the pre-dentistry track, Berschbach has unique access to advisors and comprehensive support from the BGSU Office of Pre-Professional Programs, which prepares students to advance to graduate or medical school.

“My BGSU experience has been very rewarding. Being a part of the pre-dentistry program has really set me up for success,” said Berschbach, who will begin dental school in the fall at Lincoln Memorial University in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Berschbach met with BGSU advisor Clare Spathelf, assistant director of pre-professional programs, as a freshman.

Those one-on-one sessions gave her insights into the direction her career prep should take, showed her what to expect in the coming years of her college education, and how to effectively plan so that she would meet all the requirements for entering dental school.

“Right off the bat, I had an outline of exactly what I needed to do and good advice on how to go about it,” said Berschbach, whose mother is a dental hygienist in the Detroit school system. “The program got my foot in the door when I was just a freshman, and I think that was really important.”

As a part of the pre-professional program, students are paired with a success team. The teams are alumni and professionals in the field who serve as mentors, expert faculty, advisors and advisory board members and peers. Spathelf said the goal is to ensure each student is comprehensively supported throughout their academic journey and fully prepared to take the next step.

Targeting an eventual enrollment in dental school, Berschbach took the direction and got an early start accumulating the job shadowing hours she would need.

“I became aware of how I was going to be evaluated which assisted me in making intentional choices about how to invest my time outside of the classroom,” Berschbach said. “That early exposure to the work inside the dental office helped me see that this is actually what I want to do in my career.”

Berschbach spent time observing at a dental office in Michigan, at an oral surgery center in Bowling Green and at the Bowling Green dental practice of BGSU alumna Dr. Alexis Klassen.

Klassen said that is the kind of experience she wants students from the pre-professional program to have when they spend time in her office.

“When a student shadows at our office, I hope it confirms and contributes to their passion to join the dental profession,” Klassen said. “Until a student spends behind-the-scene time in different dental environments, I do not think that they can appreciate how many different options there are in the profession.”

As a senior, Berschbach is continuing to shadow at Klassen’s office, gaining vital insights into the myriad nuances of providing expert dental care.

“I’ve been able to see the overall patient experience and how each person interacting with the patient can help make the experience easier,” she said. “You can’t study that kind of thing. You have to be there in person and that’s what makes the shadowing opportunities we have in this program so valuable.”

Encouraged by her advisor, Berschbach joined the Delta Delta Sigma Pre-Dental Honor Society student organization as a freshman and is now co-president. She said the leadership experience has been exceptional.

“You become close with the other pre-dental students and work together on preparing for admissions testing and help each other all along the way,” she said. “Now that I’m a senior, I’m helping the younger students in the same way people helped me. It’s been a great process all of the way along.”