{"id":132198,"date":"2026-05-14T09:24:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T14:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=132198"},"modified":"2026-05-14T09:24:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T14:24:55","slug":"new-grad-excited-to-join-u-s-navy-dental-corps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/14\/new-grad-excited-to-join-u-s-navy-dental-corps\/","title":{"rendered":"New grad excited to join U.S. Navy dental corps"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Now that graduation has passed, UNMC College of Dentistry student Preston MacDonald has added more than a DDS to his name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also added an Lt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lieutenant will be Dr. MacDonald\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s the word \u201cservice,\u201d Dr. MacDonald said, that drew him to both dentistry and the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a part of me that is excited to serve others, both as a dentist and in the Navy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always knew I wanted to do dentistry,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although he looked at and applied to other potential programs \u2013 such as the National Health Service Program \u2013 when it came to the military, \u201cI only applied to the Navy,\u201d he said. And when they invited him to join, it seemed like a perfect fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s not a lot of military history in Dr. MacDonald\u2019s family. His grandfather served in World War II. And he admitted to some nervousness about possible deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he spoke to other dentists who had served in the military, and became more excited about the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. MacDonald has committed to at least five years with the Navy, but so far, the only military experience he\u2019s had was his officer training work during his third year of dental school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat experience made me really excited and proud of what I was doing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. MacDonald also turned for advice to a dentistry professor \u2013 Thomas Schmidt, DDS — who is a Navy veteran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDr. Schmidt was really helpful,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery time I talked to him, he would share one of his stories, or talk about how excited he was for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s made me look forward to the service,\u201d Dr. MacDonald said. \u201cHe told me, \u2018They will value you, they will treat you well, and you can make a big difference.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’m glad to be a part of something bigger,\u201d he said. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Commitment to service drew Preston MacDonald to both dentistry and the U.S. Navy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":132203,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"122348,123122,129406,129580,125408,124925","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","department-college-of-dentistry","author_override-john-keenan-unmc-strategic-communications"],"yoast_head":"\nNew grad excited to join 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