Zhiwen Ren

When asked about her personal and career goals, Zhiwen goes straight to her desire help others. “I want to become an inspiring person. I would like to influence people positively within my capacity. This links to wanting to travel to teach. I want to be able to help others, either on improving their academics or life, because this makes life meaningful.” To accomplish this, she says, “I want to become a dentist, and I am currently in the processing of achieving it.”

Zhiwen frequently volunteers and job shadows in local dental offices, and when she returns home to Los Angeles during school breaks. She is involved with the UC San Diego Pre-Dental Society, which provides opportunities for undergraduates to help deliver dental services to people in underserved neighborhoods, and she mentors science-oriented high schoolers through BioScholars. She also finds time to serve on the Eleanor Roosevelt College Student Council.

A first-generation Chinese-American immigrant, she says that her education is the driver for major decisions in her family. “My parents didn’t have to come to the States, but because the education is more well-rounded here, they gave up their jobs in China and moved to a place where they cannot even understand the commonly used language. My parents had to start fresh and work very hard to pay for the family’s expenditures and my tuition costs.” Zhiwen contributes by working at the UC San Diego Book Store, and by studying hard to maintain a GPA that is rewarded through scholarships such as Town & Gown’s.

Her interest in the dental field was piqued by her family and community. “I come from a culture where dental care is dismissed unless serious oral problems develop, which usually indicates that it’s too late for treatment to cure the problem. Patients end up having to remove teeth due to this.”

This is one reason why Zhiwen doesn’t see herself in an entirely standard dental practice. She’d like to travel the world, “to places where dental care is not as developed or standardized. I want to promote universal dental care and raise awareness on the importance of dental hygiene and regular check-ups to prevent oral diseases from developing.” Still, she wants to have the ability to provide a comfortable living style for herself and her parents as soon as possible. “I really hope to be able to finish college in three years, and complete dental school as soon as possible and start working to support my family. I want to give my parents a worry-free retirement life,” she says.