PRINCE ALBERT — Makenna Sheppard, a second-year dental therapy student at the Prince Albert USask campus, has received the prestigious Indigenous Student Achievement Award in the category of Academic Excellence.
She received the aware during the University of Saskatchewan's celebration of Indigenous Achievement Week from March 10-14. This annual event celebrates the accomplishments, contributions and successes of Métis, First Nations and Inuit students, staff, faculty and alumni.
Sheppard’s story celebrates her resilience, curiosity and passion for improving oral health.
As a Métis student, Sheppard said she values being part of an Indigenous-focused program and is eager to make a meaningful impact in her community through her career in oral health care.
"It's kind of a reflection of the work and efforts I put in in my academics and dedication to sticking with this program,” Sheppard said. “This program is very quick tempo and it's a pretty heavy programme, but it's really exciting and fun and I'm really glad that I chose it.”
Sheppard had a bit of a dental background before choosing the field. She worked in a dental office and became interested in the profession by interacting with the dentists.
"I was lucky enough to be paired up with the dentist who was very passionate about their work,” Sheppard said. “All the dentists at the office where I worked (were passionate.) It was great.”
She said that working for the dentist ignited her curiosity. They were not irritated by her eagerness to learn about materials even if she was not directly involved in the appointment.
"It was still a very strong teaching environment, which really fostered my desire to learn more and more,” she remembered. “They kind of said, ‘Oh, you would really love this class in dentistry’ and I was like, ‘Well, I don't know.’ Then when this program came up, it kind of fit in with what I was doing. It was nice and quick and fairly close to home, so I took a plunge and was accepted into the program.”
Receiving the Indigenous Student Achievement Award is a deeply meaningful milestone for Sheppard. She said that she hopes her success inspires others.
She said Indigenous culture is integrated into the program’s curriculum. This includes learning about the different communities and reserves that they will be working on.
“It's been really neat just to hear about all of the different backgrounds that all my classmates have come from because it is a very Indigenous-focused program, Which is awesome,” Sheppard said.
Through the program, Sheppard said she has learned more about her Metis heritage and other Indigenous cultures.
"We're better able to serve our communities because there's a huge need, especially in northern Saskatchewan, for something that is essentially for the most part preventable,” she explained.
“Having more members out into the community and teaching, hopefully that will inspire others to pursue their career in health and just maintain their oral health and lessen the burden of oral disease that they're experiencing.”
Sheppard said that her heritage is important to her because her late grandfather was of a generation that did not celebrate their heritage.
"He never really spoke about it growing up,” she said. “We never really had very much connection to our Metis heritage. Every once in a while, he would say something to my dog in Cree.”
She explained that her grandfather would say “come and eat” in Cree to her dog and then say that the dog spoke Cree.
"It was weird we were never really around it as much and as we grew older I think we were more interested in his past,” she said.
Shepard encouraged people to become patients at the Dental Therapy Clinic at the USask Campus. For more information contact 3036-765-3900.
"We're always looking for patients,” she said. “There are seven students that are in PA campus that are seeing patients right now.”
She added that the appointments take longer, but her instructor is excellent and keeps an eye on the clinic and makes sure there is a high standard of care.
