Video Games Made Kevin Cloud, MABS ’22, Want to be a Dentist
Kevin Cloud, MABS ’22, left, stands beside his father and brother at Chatham University’s 2022 commencement ceremony. (Courtesy of Kevin Cloud)
As a kid, Kevin Cloud, MABS ’22, thought being a dentist was “the coolest thing.”
It wasn’t teeth, tongues, or gums that initially interested him, though. At age six, he went to a pediatric dentist who had a Nintendo 64 video game console in the practice’s waiting room. He still remembers playing “Super Smash Bros.” before one visit.
“[The dentist] told me that he thought it was a good way to warm up his hands before the workday,” Cloud recalled. “I thought it was the coolest thing ever that he got to play video games to do his job.”
He still brings the story up in interviews and papers, including his essays to get into dental school. He was recently accepted into Tufts University’s dental program after completing his Master of Arts in Biomedical Studies (MABS) at Chatham University two years ago.
Going to dental school was always something Cloud planned to do. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, he worked as a laboratory technician in a dental lab. Then, he spent time working in the industrial sector, testing specialty plastics.
He started Chatham’s MABS in 2021 following a friend’s recommendation. Faculty-to-student ratio was important to Cloud, because he wanted to feel like he was able to talk to his professors.
That proved to be no problem. In fact, it was a “game-changer,” he said.
“I felt like I knew them a little more than being just another student,” he said. “It made me feel more confident asking them questions. They’re available, they want you to ask questions.”
John Dubé, the MABS program director and an associate professor of microbiology, was one example. “I learned a lot more in human physiology with Dubé,” Cloud said. “He was able to give some practical examples, not just learning the materials, but giving you real-life situations.”
The result was a greater appreciation for why students like Cloud were being taught these things. Other highlights included time spent in the cadaver lab with Associate Professor of Human Anatomy Ali Abdulrahman.
Cloud said he also appreciated the classmates with whom he made tight friendships. “That was important to help me along,” he said.
He also had the opportunity to work as a graduate assistant, running Chatham’s chemistry lab, where he worked alongside research faculty and undergraduate students. He tried to relate to students, reassuring them when their projects didn’t always turn out as planned.
“The teachers I liked having when I was in school were who I was trying to personify,” he said. “Trying to be on the same level as students, not taking it super strict and seriously, putting an emphasis on the learning and having fun with it.
“They have lectures and tests to stress about,” he continued. “The lab doesn’t have to be stressful too. It’s supposed to be the more fun part.”
Once he was close to obtaining his MABS degree, it was time to think about applying to dental school. Just about all of Cloud’s professors at Chatham told him to ask them for a letter of recommendation. He took some of them up on the offer and ended up securing a spot at Tufts.
Cloud said he doesn’t play video games as much as he might have expected when he was young, but he’s still on his way to fulfilling a longtime goal. In second grade, he had to tell his class what he wanted to do when he grew up.
“I always tell the story about how all the kids in my class, they gave the usual kid answers: ‘I want to be cowboy.’ ‘I want to be an astronaut.’ … And I wanted to be a dentist. What kid likes a dentist?”
Learn more about Chatham’s Master of Biomedical Studies program, which offers students a pathway to matriculate into dental school, medical school, and more.