Now that graduation has passed, UNMC College of Dentistry student Preston MacDonald has added more than a DDS to his name.
He also added an Lt.
Lieutenant will be Dr. MacDonald’s rank as he enters the U.S. Navy, becoming part of its dental corps and providing care for his fellow service members and their family.
And it’s the word “service,” Dr. MacDonald said, that drew him to both dentistry and the military.
“There is a part of me that is excited to serve others, both as a dentist and in the Navy,” he said.
“I always knew I wanted to do dentistry,” he said. But it was a meeting with a Navy recruiter during his undergraduate years at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that sparked his interest in military service.
Although he looked at and applied to other potential programs – such as the National Health Service Program – when it came to the military, “I only applied to the Navy,” he said. And when they invited him to join, it seemed like a perfect fit.
There’s not a lot of military history in Dr. MacDonald’s family. His grandfather served in World War II. And he admitted to some nervousness about possible deployment.
But he spoke to other dentists who had served in the military, and became more excited about the program.
Dr. MacDonald has committed to at least five years with the Navy, but so far, the only military experience he’s had was his officer training work during his third year of dental school.
“That experience made me really excited and proud of what I was doing,” he said.
Dr. MacDonald also turned for advice to a dentistry professor – Thomas Schmidt, DDS — who is a Navy veteran.
“Dr. Schmidt was really helpful,” he said. “Every time I talked to him, he would share one of his stories, or talk about how excited he was for me.
“He’s made me look forward to the service,” Dr. MacDonald said. “He told me, ‘They will value you, they will treat you well, and you can make a big difference.’
“I’m glad to be a part of something bigger,” he said. “The U.S. Navy works tirelessly to keep the seas open and the world free. And I would like to be part of something like that.”