Hường Trần, a student at the University of California, Berkeley, will receive the Chancellor's Undergraduate Student Award for Civic Engagement for a free program she designed called Super Star Smiles.
The 21-year-old integrative biology major and aspiring oral surgeon underwent numerous medical and oral surgeries and bone grafts starting at age one to repair a bilateral cleft lip and palate. It wasn't until she turned 17 that she had a smile to share with the world.
During a course at the Graduate School of Education, she developed a volunteer program in which UC Berkeley students teach basic dental hygiene and good nutrition to youngsters from preschool through second grade in underserved East Bay communities. They visit classrooms for 30 minutes a few times each semester.
Trần and her friends come equipped with plaster models of the mouth, stuffed animals with very large teeth loaned by the Cal Pre-Dental Society, and child-sized toothbrushes provided by the Berkeley Free Clinic when teaching kids about dental care. They show youngsters the best way to brush and floss, and have them practice their newly learned tooth-brushing skills on the toy models.
Trần also is working to arrange the financing for a trip to Vietnam this year, traveling with a healthcare professional to take her message of dental health to youngsters in the central part of the country, where her own family lived before moving to California.
Trần's work with Super Star Smiles and the Berkeley Free Clinic led to her winning the award, which she will receive during an April 30 ceremony at UC Berkeley's Sibley Auditorium.
