Student Profile Q&A: Dental student Said Al-Jazaeri continues to expand his dentistry knowledge, experience and opportunities – with no end in sight

Said Al-Jazaeri’s path to and through the School of Dentistry is one of the most interesting and distinctive of any student walking the halls and treating patients in the clinics. He was born in Florida to Syrian parents and grew up in their native country in the capital of Damascus. Looking for better options for college and career than were available in war-torn Syria, Al-Jazaeri came to the U.S. in 2013 at age 19. He initially traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, to stay with a friend who was beginning a med school residency. Unable to find a job during a month in Memphis, he took a Greyhound bus to Ann Arbor, where a family cousin was a regional manager for a group of fast-food restaurants in southeast Michigan.

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For two years Al-Jazaeri lived with a host family employed at the restaurants and he also worked there, starting as a cook and later as a cashier when his English improved. When a friend went for a teeth cleaning at the dental assisting program at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Al-Jazaeri went along because he was interested in science and medical careers. He liked what he saw at WCC and decided to complete the one-year Dental Assisting program there. It convinced him to pursue Dental Hygiene, but he needed several pre-requisite courses, which he took at WCC, where he also worked for two years to help pay his expenses. He entered the Dental Hygiene program at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry in 2017, earning his bachelor’s degree in 2020. Over the next two years, as he considered whether he wanted to be a dentist, he worked as a dental hygienist at local dental practices and in various support positions at the School of Dentistry. He finished more pre-requisite courses, at Eastern Michigan University, and was accepted into the DDS program at the U-M dental school in 2023. He is currently a third-year student who will graduate in 2027. He has been president of his class all three years and is also president of the school’s Student Council. During a recent interview, he discussed his path from Syria to the U.S. to the dental school; what it’s like being eight years older than most of his classmates; his leadership positions; and why he likes Ann Arbor and the dental school enough to possibly make it his home in academia moving forward.

Q: As an only child, it must have been a difficult decision to leave your family in Syria.

A: Coming to the U.S. at the age of 19 was absolutely a challenging experience at first. I came here as means to escape the war in Syria and to continue pursing my educational goals. I faced a lot of challenges assimilating to the new culture, but I overcame the obstacles I encountered with the help and the support of people that surrounded me. In Syria, both my parents worked in Ministry of Higher Education. One of my uncles is a civil engineer and another is an architect. My goal in high school was to do architecture, but architecture school is difficult to get into. I took a course in civil engineering but didn’t really like it. I tried to get an interior design scholarship but didn’t receive it, which was difficult for me at the time, but a good thing in the end. So I had to decide: What do I do?  The war was getting worse. For my civil engineering course, I took the bus to the suburbs. During spring break when we didn’t have classes, there was an explosion where I would normally have gone to take the bus. I was saved by being on break. It just got to the point where there was not much hope, not much future there. My parents weren’t thrilled about me leaving Syria, but they understood. The older generations would rather stay through the war in their home country than have to adapt to a new country and new culture. Even though I didn’t see them for many years at a time, we stayed close with lots of calls. We used to call every day, sometimes five or six times a day.

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Q: You had been interested in aspects of medicine, then your dental assisting course at WCC introduced you to the broader field of dentistry. You decided to go forward for the Dental Hygiene degree. What appealed to you about that?

A: Dental assisting was a good introduction because it allowed me to use my hand skills early on. I really enjoyed it. A friend recommended I consider Dental Hygiene and I was able to learn more about that because the WCC dental assisting program and U-M dental school had an exchange program. So I got to meet dental and dental hygiene students and learn what it would be like to enter the DH program. My first year in the DH program was very tough, but the professors were awesome. It helped a lot that I had the dental assisting course, so I knew the terminology, how to communicate with patients, and so forth. I made the most of my time in the DH program by doing research with Dr. Marita Inglehart, traveling to conferences, doing a summer fellowship because at that time we had the summers off. I went with the dental school’s Global Initiatives trip to Kenya. And I worked probably eight or nine jobs at the dental school during those several years in DH and afterward as I was preparing to apply to dental school.

Q: Your decision to pursue a dental degree, take the entrance test, apply to the dental school and then wait to see if you were accepted is a difficult process for everyone. But yours was made more difficult with the news about your father.

A: Getting a DDS was always on my mind, but I was always going to navigate as I go. I didn’t want to force it. My thought was always: “If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, I will have an amazing career as a hygienist.” My parents supported my decision to keep going for my DDS. In July of 2022, I took a couple of weeks off from my job to prepare for the Dental Admission Test. I took the test, then went back to work and two days later I got the call that my father had passed away. I hadn’t seen him in nine years. It was very challenging. I was literally about to start my application to dental school the day that he passed away. But I knew I had to keep going, because he wanted me to go to dental school, and I knew he would not like me to stop and delay it another year. I applied really late in the admissions process, but I had to grieve for a little bit, and I tried to stay optimistic. That December I went back to Syria for the first time in almost 10 years and saw my mom for about three weeks. I was there during the time when the dental school contacts students who have been admitted. I had only applied to Michigan, so it was my only hope. On the day they were to call us, I waited all day, but for some reason the call didn’t get through.  So then the school sent an email at 2 p.m. here and 10 o’clock at night in Syria while some neighbors were visiting my house. I found the email confirming that I was admitted and my mom started crying. It was a great moment, but very nerve-wracking not knowing if I got the call or not. Going through the process, with my father passing away, was challenging, but whatever you go through in life makes you stronger and gives you perspective.

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Q: The first two years of dental school are largely didactic, in classrooms and lecture halls, with treating patients in clinic starting in the third year. How is it going?

A:  The first two years were not as smooth as I thought it would be for me. I don’t have as much science background as a lot of my classmates. At the same time, because I have been at Michigan for so long, many of our faculty were once my colleagues and coworkers when I worked at the school, so having that support system in place made a big difference for me. Now that we’re in clinic, I love it. That’s what I’ve been trained for. I know how to navigate my clinic time. I know how to talk to the patient. I’ve been doing it for so long and seen so many patients and so many cases, I feel like I’m more prepared for most cases. I’m very close with the hygiene program and know how their system works. It makes the school feel like home.

Q: What’s it like to be eight years older than most of your classmates and how does that affect your role as class president all three years and president of the student council this year?

A: I’m 32. When I moved to this state I was 19. It is crazy that 13 years have passed. Being older doesn’t make a lot of difference. I love my classmates, I learn a lot from them. It’s a mutual respect. I was involved with Student Council when I was a hygiene student and was vice-president last year, so I knew what to expect as president. We work as a team. Having a strong team has made it much easier and more enjoyable. We see the concerns of the students and organize the events that involve student organizations. It’s rewarding to work with a lot of different people.

Q: And isn’t that also a benefit of your involvement over several years with the school’s Multicultural Affairs Well-Being and Belonging Committee, which works to enhance the school’s inclusive and supportive environment for students, faculty and staff.

A: I like the diversity and culture of the committee with its students, faculty and staff. The environment is relaxed, welcoming and supportive, and everyone is genuinely kind. It just feels like home away from home, like a caring family. Dental school is very stressful, there are a lot of things going on – our mental health gets challenged every day, between classes, patients and everything. Having that kind of support system means a lot to me. I have learned so much from being part of the committee, and its values are very close to my heart.

Q: You addressed a similar theme in your welcome speech as President of the Student Council at the recent Evening of Appreciation, where faculty, students and staff are awarded for their special contributions. You emphasized that the excellence across this dental school is a collective effort.

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A: My message was that in a school like this, it is easy to measure success by what is visible: exams passed, competencies completed, patients treated, research conducted, milestones reached. But the truth is, none of those accomplishments happen alone. Behind every achievement is a network of people who made it possible – faculty who mentor and challenge us, staff who keep everything moving, students who encourage one another, and leaders who help us stay grounded when the pace becomes overwhelming. What makes this community exceptional is not only the talent within it, but the way that talent comes together. People from different backgrounds, identities, roles, and lived experiences each bring something essential to this school. That diversity does not simply strengthen our institution – it gives it depth, humanity, and perspective. It makes us better learners, better leaders, and, ultimately, better caregivers. In a profession centered on service, that matters. The most meaningful progress – in education, in leadership, and in patient care – is rarely the result of individual effort alone. It is built through trust, collaboration, compassion, and the willingness to show up for one another, again and again.

Q: It is still a year before you graduate, but at this point what do you see in your future?

A: I have a strong passion for academia. I could see myself teaching in general dentistry, but I would like to pursue a specialty so I can continue to grow professionally and personally. My plan is to do graduate periodontics, which feels like a natural fit given my background in dental hygiene and my appreciation for the continuity of care involved in treating patients over time. I’m also drawn to periodontics because of its strong foundation in evidence-based research. I will probably take some time off after graduation, then apply for a residency for treating veterans, hopefully at the Ann Arbor VA hospital.  I did a dental assisting rotation there and was involved in the Victors for Veterans program at the dental school, and I really like working with veterans. After the residency, then I will apply for a perio residency. I might work in that area for a few years to get more clinical experience, and then go back full-time to academia and possibly in some kind of leadership role. Ann Arbor has been home to me for 13 years, and I have built a strong connection to this community. While I may not love the cold, I really value the people, the culture and the sense of belonging I have found here. Some people have suggested I should experience somewhere new for a while, but I truly like it here and would be happy to continue building my future in Michigan.
 

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The University of Michigan School of Dentistry is one of the nation’s leading dental schools engaged in oral healthcare education, research, patient care and community service.  General dental care clinics and specialty clinics providing advanced treatment enable the school to offer dental services and programs to patients throughout Michigan.  Classroom and clinic instruction prepare future dentists, dental specialists and dental hygienists for practice in private offices, hospitals, academia and public agencies.  Research seeks to discover and apply new knowledge that can help patients worldwide.  For more information about the School of Dentistry, visit us on the Web at: www.dent.umich.edu.  Email: [email protected], or (734) 615-1971.