Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences
For Heidi Mederos of Miami, getting braces at the age of 15 was a life-changing experience.
“This made me realize where my passions lie. I interned for a year at a general dentist’s practice to make sure dentistry was the career I wanted to pursue.”
Because Mederos was highly motivated, had exceptional grades, and maintained a laser focus on her college goals from an early age, NSU accepted her into its highly selective Dual Admission Program in Dental Medicine. Thus, she secured a seat in NSU’s College of Dental Medicine before even beginning her bachelor’s degree coursework. As a member of NSU’s honors program and a Dean’s
List student, she serves as a research assistant. In March, Mederos and another student traveled with Professor Dimitri Giarikos, Ph.D., to San Diego, California, to present their research experiment at a national conference. She endures a long commute from her home to the Davie campus, but “the sacrifice has been worth it.”
Mederos receives financial aid from seven sources, four of them NSU-related. The most important of these is the NSU Trustee Florida Academic Scholarship, providing full tuition for three years.