A Yakima son returns home to help reshape the future of rural oral health.
On an unseasonably-warm December morning, as the late-rising sun peeked over the foothills of the Yakima Valley, PNWU Student Doctor Ryan Thompson paused as he approached campus, thinking about what it meant to be there — to be back.
A lifelong Yakima resident and graduate of Davis High School, Student Dr. Thompson left for a bachelor’s degree at Eastern Washington University, and could have kept going, following the familiar path of so many young professionals.
But Yakima had marked him too deeply for that.
Local dentists were his first examples of the kind of person he could be. His uncle and grandfather, both dentists, showed him what it looked like to care for a community over decades, one patient and one story at a time.
So, when PNWU announced that its long-anticipated dental school would open its doors, he didn’t hesitate.
“As someone from Yakima, it’s truly an honor to pursue my career here while also contributing to the community I grew up in,” said Student Dr. Thompson. “Knowing that, simply by being at PNWU, I am part of a larger effort to improve local health makes the experience even more meaningful.”
Student Dr. Thompson has always paid attention to the quiet truths of Yakima: the distances people must travel for care, the appointments that are too-often too long to wait for, and the health problems that grow in the meantime.
“I also saw firsthand the exceptional care provided by our local dentists,” he said.
“Their commitment to the community inspired me, and I hope to be part of that continued strive for improving access to care.”
As an inaugural student in PNWU’s School of Dental Medicine – a program designed to address those very gaps – Student Dr. Thompson is training in an unusual model in higher education: a dental school deliberately rooted in rural and underserved communities, designed to train students in the places where they are most needed.
For Student Dr. Thompson, that model is a kind of affirmation.
“It’s incredibly reassuring to be part of a school that actively lives out its core values and is purpose driven in its mission,” he said.
“PNWU truly stands apart in its commitment to community health and service.”
As he advances in the program, Student Dr. Thompson’s goal is clear: to make it easier for people to get care before small problems become big ones.
When he speaks of that goal, and of Yakima itself, he does so not in the nostalgic way people often speak of their hometowns or dreams, but with a clear-eyed sense of responsibility.
“I hope to continue improving access to care and reducing the barriers individuals face,” he said.
“Yakima is a very special place, and I hope to make a positive impact on the community and the following generations.”