Rota lass is accepted to UCSF School of Dentistry

Bernadita Ann Atalig Manglona has been accepted to the University of California, San Francisco Dental School, one of the most prestigious dental schools in the nation, where less than 5 percent of applicants are accepted. The 23-year-old will begin her studies this fall with a traditional white coat ceremony marking the starting line of her four-year journey in pursuing a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree.

Twenty-three-year-old Bernadita Ann Atalig Manglona. (Contributed Photo)

Manglona, an Academy of Our Lady of Guam alumna and 2009 Gates Millennium Scholarship recipient, said the dental school application process started in her freshman year in college with prerequisite lab and science courses. At the University of Washington, Manglona double-majored in Biology and Public Health. 

She received a wealth of experience by taking advantage of opportunities to study abroad in Tahiti, England, Thailand, and Costa Rica. 

“[By] traveling abroad, I have met people from different cultural backgrounds, ate delicious food, and opened my eyes wider to different perspectives,” she told Saipan Tribune. 

Manglona also invested much of her time in the university’s Micronesian Islands Club and Undergraduate Students of Public Health Association, where she held leadership roles from public relations chair to president over the years. 

“My involvement helped build my communication, leadership, and networking skills—skills necessary for the dental field,” she explained. 

To solidify her passion in dentistry, Manglona applied to the Summer Medical and Dental Educational Program in 2010 at the University of Washington, where she shadowed oral surgeons and Emergency Room doctors, volunteered and taught oral health education at migrant farmer camps, and took academic enrichment courses. 

She eventually shadowed a dental school professor at his clinic in Seattle for 18 months. Later, in 2014, she was able to travel with a team of doctors and volunteers to Guatemala to serve over 700 natives through dental care and primary medical care. In the same year, Manglona volunteered at the East African Community Services and tutored 1st and 2nd generation East African immigrants, while completing her Public Health Capstone project on Immigrant Children and Dental Caries.

The culmination of her undergrad studies was a four-hour and 30-minute dental admission test, which is used to gauge a dental student’s academic ability. After garnering a formidable test score, she applied to 10 dental schools and earned the opportunity to pursue her lifelong dream. 

The island life impact

As an avid student athlete, altar server, and scholar in high school, Manglona said she knew from an early age that oral health was important. Her passion became apparent when she visited her family’s Rota home and learned that no dentist resided on island.

“I was shocked! Since then, I saw value and the importance of a dentist in a community,” she added. 

Manglona considers dentistry as a dynamic career field and she has learned that dentistry is as much an art as it is science. 

“My service to my patients comes with functionality—whether it is to help them chew or smile. I am excited about working with my hands!”

Manglona credits her parents, Vincent and Benita, for understanding the importance of education.

“To this day, their advice still resonates with me and I believe that is why I try to educate myself, in and out of the classroom, whether its dental school or traveling abroad. I have always been hungry for adventure,” she added.

The Chamorro culture and island way of life are things, Manglona explained, that molded her into someone who is grateful, rooted in family, and respectful.

She urges young local students to never stop striving for greatness. “Don’t let a bad grade or a bad day hinder you from pursuing your dreams. We come from the Mariana Islands, a very special place, that nurtured us to value family, respect, and compassion—use that gift for the world.”