Caitlin Melvin receives 2019 Dental Trade Alliance Foundation Scholarship

Greenville, N.C. (July 24, 2019)—Caitlin Melvin, a third-year student at the ECU School of Dental Medicine, has been selected to receive a 2019 Dental Trade Alliance (DTA) Foundation Scholarship for $5,000 to help defray educational expenses.

A native of Sneads Ferry, N.C., Ms. Melvin graduated from East Carolina University in 2017 with a bachelor of science in public health studies and a minor in business administration. She currently serves as president of ECU’s Chapter of the Academy of General Dentistry. In 2019, she received the Chancellor’s Horizon Award for Service, and she was invited to join ECU’s Servire Society, which recognizes students, staff, and faculty for community service.

Third-year dental student Caitlin Melvin received a scholarship from the Dental Trade Alliance Foundation. Dr. Greg Chadwick, dean of the ECU School of Dental Medicine and Dr. Margaret Wilson, vice dean, presented Caitlin with a representative check.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation Schweitzer Fellowship program named Melvin a J. Bradley Wilson Schweitzer Fellow in 2018 for which she and classmate Bryan Yang initiated an on-site oral health program for children at the East Carolina University Lab School.

“This scholarship means so much to me because it acknowledges my service to the community,” said Melvin. “Service has been a huge part of my life especially since starting college at ECU, and it is the reason I want to be a dentist. The DTA Foundation scholarship encourages me to keep striving to serve others and assures me that I am making a difference in the lives of others.”

“Caitlin is to be commended on receiving this award,” said Dr. Margaret Wilson, vice dean of the dental school. “Her selection by the DTA Foundation recognizes her academic achievements and her extraordinary commitment to service and advocacy. She truly follows the mission of the ECU School of Dental Medicine.”

After graduation from dental school, Melvin plans to apply for a residency program to further her dental education. Ultimately, she hopes to practice general dentistry in a small coastal North Carolina town near her hometown and the Pirate Nation.

During her fourth year of dental school, Melvin and her classmates will complete three 9-week rotations at the school’s Community Service Learning Centers located in eight rural communities across North Carolina.

The Dental Trade Alliance is an association of companies that provides dental equipment, supplies, materials and services to dentists and other oral care professionals. The DTA Foundation works to broaden awareness of oral health’s impact on overall health and increase access to oral health care.

The DTA Foundation awards scholarships to rising third- and fourth-year dental students who have demonstrated academic excellence in dentistry and have an established commitment to community service.