Name: Nicole C. Gore (Nikki)

Age: 36

Tribe/clans: Crow and Hidatsa/ member of the Newly Made Lodge Clan and child of the Big Lodge Clan

Hometown: Crow Agency, MT

I have been interested in becoming a dentist since I was 5 years old. I liked the atmosphere and environment of the dental clinic. Disclosing my teeth and brushing it off was my favorite part while receiving a fluoride treatment was my least. What motivated me was the positive and friendly early experiences and the genuine concern, trust and knowledge the dentist and his staff showed toward me – I knew that I wanted to be like them! Upon graduation, I would like to help a close-knit community similar to one that I was reared in. I would like to be able to not only be an effective dentist and health care provider but also be a mentor to the young through community activities and tutoring.

Before graduating as valedictorian from Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Oregon, I attended the INMED program in North Dakota. This helped me focus on the importance of science in order to become a dentist. After graduation, I did an internship in Bethesda, Maryland for the National Institutes of Health. I then attended and graduated from Sheridan Community College in Sheridan, Wyoming where I received a Certificate in Dental Assisting. I then worked for the Indian Health Service for 3 ½ years as an expanded functions assistant and then worked in the private sector for 2 more years. I did volunteer work through the Red Cross as a dental assistant while living at Fort Carson, Colorado while finishing my Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. It was challenging raising a child alone when my husband was in the Army – e.g. when he was a drill sergeant, deployed to Kuwait and then a few years later to Iraq. Yet, it aided me in becoming a more organized person. I learned the true meaning of perseverance, patience, empathy, determination, strength and will. Presently, I am attending dental school at the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health in Mesa, Arizona and was awarded an Indian Health Scholarship in 2005. Most importantly, I couldn’t have done any of this without the love and support of my family especially my husband (retired after serving 20 years active duty in the United States Army) and daughter (age six and in kindergarten) J.