NSU CDM Lasting Impressions Spring 2019

36 | COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE STUDENT Impressions STUDENT IMPRESSIONS The youngest of five children born to multinational parents, Gabriella Ambrose, D.M.D., M.B.S., follows generations of strong women role models who went to great lengths to chisel out livelihoods of purpose and service. You could say that Ambrose’s strong work ethic, her eagerness to learn, and her natural leadership abilities are part of her inheritance. These traits started at home for Ambrose, who grew up in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a Caribbean country in the Lesser Antilles. Her mother is a renowned radiologist who introduced the first CT scan, mammography, and other radiologic procedures to St. Vincent, earning her recognition by Queen Elizabeth II and the coveted title of Order of the British Empire (OBE). Her maternal grandmother spent 33 years in public service, most notably as the common- wealth’s first female auditor general. And an aunt serves as speaker of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Assembly. In addition to her accomplished female role models, Ambrose’s father, Dennis Ambrose, is a former drafts- man who runs the family’s 80-acre farm. “Caribbean parents are generally very big on edu- cation and achievement,” said Ambrose, now a second- year periodontology resident at the CDM. “My parents were big on their kids getting something done.” For Ambrose, that “something” started after gradu- ating high school at the age of 16 and leaving for new opportunities in the United States. She attended a com- munity college in Seattle, Washington, for two years before transferring to the University of Miami, where she majored in psychology and minored in chemistry. After a childhood spent following her radiologist mother on rounds, Ambrose knew she wanted to be a doctor. She discovered a passion for dentistry one summer while shadowing her godfather, a St. Vincent dentist. “I really liked the mix of medicine, mechanics, and arts in dentistry,” Ambrose said. “It’s like you’re an architect of the mouth. Health encompasses the whole body, but you can find your niche and work with that.” Her niche, she decided, would be periodontology. “I think periodontology is a good mix of surgery and being able to stay in the realm of general dentistry,” she explained, adding that she was drawn by a sense of purpose in helping patients understand the importance of maintaining a healthy mouth. “Without periodontal health, you don’t have much to work with.” Ambrose chose to pursue a master’s degree program in her residency, attracted by the element of research it required. Research, she said, is essential to under- standing the inner workings of medicine and science, and to staying current on the ever-evolving practice of dentistry. A Path of Purpose Caribbean Native’s Way Forged by Role Models BY NICOLE BROCHU Gabriella Ambrose’s passion for dentistry began while she was shadow- ing her godfather.