{"id":28999,"date":"2023-04-27T08:42:17","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T12:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/earlham.edu\/?p=28999&preview=true&preview_id=28999"},"modified":"2023-05-03T16:41:35","modified_gmt":"2023-05-03T20:41:35","slug":"military-service-and-earlham-colleges-epic-advantage-peaved-sean-ahns-path-to-dentistry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earlham.edu\/news-events\/military-service-and-earlham-colleges-epic-advantage-peaved-sean-ahns-path-to-dentistry\/","title":{"rendered":"Military service and Earlham College\u2019s Epic Advantage paved Sean Ahn\u2019s path to dentistry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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During his sophomore year at Earlham College, Hyunseong \u201cSean\u201d Ahn suspended his education and returned home to begin his compulsory military service in his home country of South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had a very difficult decision to make,\u201d Ahn said. South Korean men must enlist between their 18th<\/sup> and 28th<\/sup> birthdays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cObviously, I wanted to graduate with my class, but the Korean government has been very good to my family,\u201d Ahn said. \u201cMy father works for the Korean government. The opportunity to study in the United States was also supported by them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy mother really encouraged me to enlist and not delay. My mom didn\u2019t want the military service to hinder my future studies after Earlham,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the end, after weighing my options, I decided to return home.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahn\u2019s service to the military lasted two years and was a watershed moment in his future outlook as he prepares to graduate from Earlham in May with a degree in biochemistry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI served as a hospital corpsman with the South Korean Navy and spent those two years on a 5000-ton destroyer,\u201d Ahn said. \u201cWorking with doctors helped me think about my path before I came back to Earlham. It pushed me to explore careers in medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve always enjoyed working with my hands,\u201d he said. \u201cDentistry became a career I knew I should consider.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After returning to campus, Ahn put his future ambitions to work. Under the pre-health advising guidance of the Earlham College Center for Global Health, he applied for an internship at the University of North Carolina\u2019s Adams School of Dentistry. Earlham\u2019s Epic Advantage program\u2014guaranteed funding every student to participate in an internship, research or other career discerning experience\u2014supported him for the entire summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m very blessed,\u201d Ahn said. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful that Earlham has something like the Epic Advantage where I didn\u2019t have to worry about funding to do research I really wanted to do. The funding made this internship possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahn participated in the UNC Adams School of Dentistry\u2019s Zero Out Early Childhood Tooth Decay program, a multimillion-dollar research study funded by the National Institutes of Health. He conducted a literature review of genes associated with early childhood caries and participated in research on microbiomes in oral cavities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI enjoyed every minute of it,\u201d Ahn said. \u201cDental caries or tooth decay is a significant challenge among children from disadvantage backgrounds. Obviously, I was not the person leading the project, but the fact that I was still doing something that had great potential to help a lot of people\u2014I took a lot of meaning from that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was also valuable walking the floors with dental school students. That was a great motivator as I was applying for dental schools.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahn\u2019s outstanding success in the classroom combined with his Epic Advantage internship positioned him for success when applying for graduate schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he began his final spring semester at Earlham, Ahn already had five graduate school offers for admission, including Kansas City University, Indiana University, Detroit Mercy University, Columbia University and UNC. Two of these dental schools have an average acceptance rate of about 10 percent, said Peter Blair, the director of Earlham\u2019s Center for Global Health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe challenge of being accepted into U.S. dental schools by an international applicant is immense,\u201d Blair said. \u201cThe fact that he was accepted into several top schools is quite the achievement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhat makes Sean remarkable is his zeal for life, including his wide interests and engagements,\u201d he said. \u201cThis includes his passion for dentistry and serving others. He is one of the most compassionate and humble pre-health students I have mentored. His work ethic is impeccable and he is highly respected among his faculty and peers. Sean\u2019s future patients will be well-served and fortunate to have him as their dentist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to his degree, Ahn will leave Earlham as the recipient of two major honors given during last week\u2019s Spring Awards Convocation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is the College\u2019s recipient of the Russell L. Malcolm Pre-Medicine Award, which is presented to a pre-medical student who has demonstrated not only excellence in science and general scholarship but also the character required to become an outstanding physician. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A student-athlete on the men\u2019s tennis team, Ahn was also among this year\u2019s recipients of the Wendell M. Stanley Senior Scholar-Athlete Award. Named after the Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner who graduated from Earlham in 1926, the award goes to male student-athletes with a grade point average of at least 3.2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating from Earlham, Ahn is excited to continue in his pursuit of becoming a dentist at the Adams School of Dentistry at the University of North Carolina. Ahn moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, prior to enrolling at Earlham and lived with a host family while he finished high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe UNC Adams School of Dentistry was an easy choice,\u201d he said. \u201cChapel Hill holds a special place in my heart, because it\u2019s the place where my American dream began, and UNC is one of the best dental schools in the country. Also, I can be close to my host family and future in-laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI haven\u2019t really decided if I want to go into academia or private practice,\u201d he said. \u201cBoth options will give me a great chance to help people in so many ways, to lessen the pain of so many people. All I know is that I want to be a good dentist that does a lot of good for a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Media contact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Brian Zimmerman<\/strong>
Interim co-vice president of marketing and communications
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Email: zimmebr@earlham.edu
Phone: 765.983.1256<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n