Biochemistry student graduates early

Amritpal Kaur will take a semester off before dental school

By California State University, Bakersfield

November 23^rd, 2022

Graduating early was always part of Amritpal Kaur’s plan. The biochemistry student knew she wanted to go to dental school after finishing her undergraduate degree, and with several more years of school ahead of her, she wanted to build in a gap semester — just enough time off to let her catch her breath before the next chapter of her educational journey starts.

After three-and-a-half years of overloaded schedules, summer and winter session classes and, somehow, plenty of research and club involvement, Kaur will realize her goal when she walks the stage at this fall’s commencement ceremony and she becomes a California State University, Bakersfield graduate.

“It’s mixed feelings: I’m happy that I’m going to graduate, but at the same time, I haven’t heard back from dental schools,” said Kaur, 21, adding that she should hear back about her pending applications by the end of the year. “I’m scared about what’s going to happen! But at the same time, I know I’m done with one path of my academic career — now I’m going to jump into the actual stuff that’s focused on my career.”

Kaur’s early graduation from CSUB’s School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering is a celebration not just for her but for her father, who gave up his own dream of becoming a doctor when he moved from India to the United States just six months before finishing his bachelor’s degree.

“Seeing him be so passionate about science kind of sparked that joy in my eyes for science, and somehow I found a way that I was interested in dentistry,” Kaur said. “In a sense, I’m living my dad’s dream for him, along with my passion, so it’s both combined in one.”

Finding opportunities

Originally from Victorville, Kaur graduated from West High School in 2019, a couple years after returning to California from India. Kaur had lived with her family in India for 10 years, when Kaur was 6 to 16 years old.

When Kaur started as a first-year student at CSUB, she was no stranger to its campus or the many opportunities it held for students to learn and grow. The summer before her first semester, Kaur participated in the Chevron-funded REVS UP program, a predecessor to the current Summer Undergraduate Research Experience. REVS UP gave local high school students the opportunity to get early research experience.

Working with Dr. Karlo Lopez, Kaur was one in a group of students on a project called “Reducing Capability of Coenzyme: A Persulfide Reductase on Sulfur in Diesel Fuels.”

“The experience was extraordinary, and it was a gateway to experiencing what my undergraduate career at CSUB would look like as a biochemistry major,” Kaur said. “I had already made up my mind I was coming to CSUB, but I wanted to do this program to make connections and be prepared beforehand by having an understanding of what college life is composed of.”

Dr. Lopez, now interim associate dean of NSME, remembers Kaur as a "curious student who wanted to understand the details of the work we were doing."

"If I had had a spot in my lab, I would have recruited her as a freshman," he said. "Although she did not continue to research with me, I had the opportunity to be her academic advisor and watch her succeed academically and blossom into an independent scientist."

As a student, Kaur continued to find opportunities at CSUB. Knowing she would get more out of her education if she was involved on campus, she joined the Pre-Pharmacy Club and reactivated the Pre-Dental Club.

“During high school, I was a very shy individual and I realized it didn’t get me very far,” she said. “I felt like I needed to be more open and out there and that I had to seek opportunities for myself; they weren’t going to come to me directly.”

Kaur also worked with Associate Professor of Biochemistry Dr. Sarah Forester in her lab studying grape compounds. Though it isn’t related to her dentistry career goals, Kaur found the experience extremely valuable as a student. It also helped her get a job at the Kern County Agriculture Department, where she and her supervisor work with farmers on treatments to help with better yields.

“It has been a joy to mentor Amritpal in my research lab, in the classroom and as the faculty adviser to the Pre-Pharmacy Club,” Dr. Forester said. “Amritpal navigates life’s endeavors with great dedication and skill. I look forward to celebrating her graduation and next chapter.”

Looking back at her time at CSUB now that it’s almost over, Kaur is grateful for the experiences she had as a student.

“I think CSUB helped me and that I got a lot of opportunities I don’t think I would have gotten if I would have decided to go to another school,” she said. “Because of it being such a small and tight-knit community, and knowing the professors and asking them for help, you get recognized and told about opportunities, and that actually helped me a lot.”

Next stop: dental school

With her final classes nearly finished, Kaur still has a few weeks before she will hear back about dental school, but she’s already preparing herself for the long road ahead. It will be long and grueling, but on the other side, she knows she will be able to improve patients’ lives. She’s seen firsthand the difference dentistry had on her younger brother, who was previously bullied because of his teeth.

“When he got his braces, his whole demeanor changed, and he was a whole different person,” Kaur said. “I saw how his mental health went from zero to 100 that quick. I realized how dentistry can help someone with their looks and with mental health.”

Kaur is hoping to stay in California for dental school and plans to return to Bakersfield at least for a few years when she is done with school. She’d like to live in the Bay Area in the future, but even then, she plans to come back to Bakersfield to offer free or low-cost dental health services at community outreach events.

“As a dentist, I can try to get a group together and bring them out and give back to the community where I came from,” she explained.

Before she starts dental school, though, Kaur will have a semester free, hard-earned after a packed three-and-a-half years at CSUB. First on her agenda is a busy travel schedule: a trip to Paris with her friends, another to Malibu with her boyfriend and some time in India, where she will visit her last of the Panj Takht, five temples significant in the Sikh faith. She’s visited four already but, with busy years ahead, this will be the best time for her to make the final part of that spiritual journey.

“I want to complete that so I feel fulfilled religiously, like I have done what I’m supposed to do,” Kaur said. “God has kept me sane through Covid too. He’s a very important factor in my life.”

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Footnotes

Story by Kelly Ardis, communications specialist, School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering (NSME); lead photo by EJ Medellin, multimedia student assistant, additional photos provided by Amritpal Kaur and Dr. Jane Dong