Twenty Years of Opening Doors: UCLA Dentistry Celebrates Its SHPEP Legacy

For two decades, the UCLA School of Dentistry has helped aspiring healthcare professionals discover their potential through the Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP), creating pathways into dentistry through mentorship, academic enrichment, and hands-on learning.

Formerly known as the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP), SHPEP was a nationally funded initiative supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, with technical assistance from the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Dental Education Association. The free, six-week in-residence experiential learning program at 12 university sites introduced rising second- and third-year undergraduate and community college students to careers in medicine, dentistry, and nursing, particularly emphasizing healthcare challenges in underserved communities. As the largest national program of its kind, SHPEP left a proud, 20-year legacy of impact, including a 55% medical or dental school application rate among its 1,600 alumni nationwide.

In Southern California, the program brought together the UCLA’s School of Dentistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and Charles R. Drew University School of Medicine and Science. Through academic workshops, clinical simulations, problem-based learning, and individualized mentorship, participants gained valuable insights into the health professions while strengthening their preparation for professional school.

Central to UCLA Dentistry's 20-year involvement has been Dr. Edmond Hewlett – professor emeritus and associate dean of equity, diversity, and inclusion – whose steadfast leadership as principal investigator to the dental cohort helped generations of students explore the profession and envision their futures as oral healthcare providers. Over that period, scores of program participants went on to dental school, including more than ten who matriculated at the UCLA School of Dentistry.

A Summer That Changed Everything

For Dr. Christina Light, SHPEP was a turning point.

In 2016, while a sophomore at Loyola Marymount University, Light applied to the program as she was still exploring her professional interests.

"When I applied to SHPEP during my sophomore year, I had to designate myself as a pre-medical or pre-dental student, and I took that as my opportunity to finally explore dentistry," she recalled.

"That summer changed the trajectory of my career path entirely. Through conversations with dental professionals and students, hands-on experiences, and exposure to some introductory courses, I fell in love with dentistry."

Dr. Light went on to earn her D.D.S. from UCLA in 2022 and is now training in the six-year combined M.D./oral and maxillofacial surgery residency program at Oregon Health & Science University, with an anticipated completion date of 2028.

"SHPEP gave me the opportunity to explore a path I might otherwise have never pursued, and I left the program knowing that dentistry was where I wanted to build my future," she said.

Mentorship Comes Full Circle
The spirit of mentorship that shaped Light's experience remained a cornerstone of UCLA's SHPEP program. Each summer, current dental students served as problem-based learning tutors, guiding scholars through clinical scenarios, encouraging collaborative problem-solving, and offering firsthand perspectives on dental school.

In 2026, UCLA Dentistry's mentors were Nadia Ballard, D.D.S. ’27, Kenechi Obiorah, D.D.S. ‘28/SHPEP '22, and Alonso Sanchez, D.D.S. ‘28.

That year's graduation ceremony also highlighted the lasting connections fostered by SHPEP. Invited speaker Amour Elliott, D.D.S. ‘28, had participated in the program in 2019 while an undergraduate at Howard University. Seven years later, Elliott returned as a UCLA dental student to address the newest cohort of scholars, demonstrating how an early introduction to dentistry can develop into a professional calling.

SHPEP's influence has also extended into dental research. Alumna Rachel Kulchar, now in her third year of UCLA Dentistry's combined DDS/PhD program, presented at the 2025 International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research meeting in Barcelona, Spain. Her research on how certain cancer treatments can trigger inflammation in the salivary glands, using advanced techniques to study individual cells and where they're located within the affected tissue also earned her the AADOCR’s prestigious Hatton Award that year.

An Enduring Legacy
As the national SHPEP initiative concludes following its 2026 summer cohort, UCLA Dentistry celebrates two decades of investing in aspiring healthcare professionals and helping students discover opportunities they might not otherwise have considered.

Through the dedication of Dr. Hewlett, the collaboration of UCLA's campus partners, and the commitment of dental student mentors, the program has created connections that extend well beyond a single summer.

Its legacy lives on in alumni like Light, Elliott, Obiorah, and Kulchar: future and current clinicians, educators, and researchers whose journeys demonstrate the transformative power of opportunity, encouragement, and mentorship.