ATSU-ASDOH student enters final year of education at her ‘dream school’
Posted: October 16, 2025
A.T. Still University-Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) student Rachel Benrey, D4, is living the dream.
Well, to be more accurate, living her dream. What was that dream? Attending dental school at ATSU-ASDOH.
“After I toured ATSU-ASDOH in 2019, it became my dream school,” Benrey said. “I was so impressed by the campus, advanced technology, and how happy the students were. I am very passionate about advocating for and working with patients with special needs. Hearing more about ASDOH’s emphasis on public health and their impressive Center for Advanced Oral Health, I knew that ATSU-ASDOH would provide me with a great foundation to reach my future goals in dentistry.”
Benrey is from San Diego and has a bachelor’s of science in communication sciences and disorders from University of Texas at Austin.
At ATSU-ASDOH, Benrey has served multiple roles with the Special Care Dentistry Association (SCDA) and as a student ambassador.
“I joined SCDA because I wanted to be involved on campus and because of my previous experience working with people with special needs. I enjoyed how this organization advocated for people with special needs, put on volunteer events, and educated students about how to adjust their care to accommodate those who need special care,” she said. “I became a student ambassador because of the impact that the student ambassadors had on me as a pre-dental student. Touring ATSU-ASDOH only made me more excited to start my career, and a large part of that was hearing how happy the students were with the school and how prepared they felt to take on the real world after school. I took an unconventional path to dental school and I felt like my experience could help other students who made a career change.”
Benrey said she’s enjoyed her clinical experiences on campus and in external rotations. She’s also experienced the benefits of a relatively small class size.
“Being part of a small class has allowed me to build strong friendships with my classmates that will last a lifetime,” she said. “ATSU also creates an environment where we feel comfortable approaching instructors, asking questions, and absorbing as much knowledge we can from them before graduation.”
Outside of class, Benrey enjoys spending time exploring with her husband and their two dogs – a chocolate lab and a corgi – who, Benrey said, “are my world!”
“I also love trying out different workout classes, hiking trails, and finding new restaurants with friends,” she said.
On campus, Benrey is preparing for a career as a skilled dentist, able to meet the needs of all her patients.
“I hope to become a dentist who can serve all patient populations by accommodating my services to meet their specific needs,” she said. “ATSU is preparing me for my career goals by encouraging personalization of treatment care to treat the patient as a whole, rather than just looking at the problem area and allowing us the opportunity to have extensive clinical experience.”