Commencement Speaker Follows Her Dream of Becoming a Dentist

Sometimes, amazing people step into our lives at just the right time to guide us along the way. Jenale Alfonso Cruz met those people over the last four years. Now, her dream of becoming a dentist and practicing in Highlands County, Fla. may likely come true.

Alfonso Cruz began her educational journey at North Hampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pa., but she will earn her Associate in Arts during South Florida State College’s (SFSC) Commencement ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. at the Alan Jay Wildstein Center for the Performing Arts. In fact, she will be the graduation keynote speaker.

When Alfonso Cruz was 12 years old, her father had an atrial fibrillation (AFib) episode, leading him to pass out while driving to his store. At one point in the hospital, his heart stopped for almost 14 seconds. Although he was close to being pronounced dead, he miraculously recovered. It was a life changing moment for his daughter.

“Because of the work of the doctors and nurses at the hospital, my father is still with us,” Alfonso Cruz said. “I remember telling my mom that day, ‘I want to go to college to become a medical doctor. I want to save lives the way these doctors and nurses saved my dad.’”

Alfonso Cruz will be a first-generation college graduate. She pays tribute to her parents, Orlando Alfonso and Milagros Cruz, for inspiring her to attend college. “We lived paycheck to paycheck most of my life,” she said. “My dad was always upset with himself because he didn’t complete high school and didn’t go to college. He told me, ‘When you get older, I want you to be better than me. And I want you to go to college. If you don’t want to go to college, do something that you’ll love. Because when you love something, it’s not a job.’ Between my parents not graduating from high school and that accident, I knew that my purpose in life was to help people and educate them about health.”

Someone special came into Alfonso Cruz’ life at just the right time. “I was working at a local restaurant as a server to earn money to pay for college,” she said. “One day, I needed to go to the dentist, so my mother suggested I visit her dentist, Dr. Albert Ruiz.

“While I was at his office, he asked me what I was majoring in at college. I told him that I wanted to become an emergency room nurse or doctor. Then he asked me where I was working. I told him and he said, ‘I’m going to offer you a job. What if you come to work as a dental assistant in my office and I teach you everything?”

The next day, Alfonso Cruz accepted the job offer. After working for Dr. Ruiz for several months, she came to love the job. “Seeing him work, his ability to teach me, his patience, his care, and his love for his job inspired me to want to become a dentist. My boss is amazing.”

“In my job, I see oral health take a toll on people’s physical well-being,” she said. “The oral cavity is so important to the health of the human body as a whole. I know that when I become a dentist, I can educate people, change their lives, and give them confidence. I love everything about dentistry. I attribute that to Dr. Ruiz. He’s been my cheerleader over the last four years.”

But to pay for college, Alfonso Cruz has worked 40 to 45 hours a week. “I can’t have my parents pay for my college,” she said. “Because of my father’s income, I couldn’t get financial aid. But my parents don’t charge me for anything. I live at home, my meals are made for me, and my mom washes my clothes for me most of the time. My parents are great. I can’t take anything else from them.”

Alfonso Cruz has been a particularly good student, earning mostly A’s throughout her college career. Each term, she takes two to three classes. “However, my social life is non-existent,” she said. “I have friends at work but none outside of work. These last four years have been somewhat isolating.”

At one point, Alfonso Cruz became dissatisfied with her life because she felt that she wasn’t progressing toward her associate degree soon enough. She expressed her unhappiness to her English instructor, Rachel Wood. “I told her, ‘I don’t know why I’m here at college. I don’t know why it’s taking me so long to finish an associate degree. I’m 20 years old. By the time I’m finished with my associate degree, other people will have already finished their bachelor’s degrees.”

Wood consoled her. “Everyone has their own path,” she said. “Continue on. You’re doing great. What do you want to be?”

“That’s when I decided that I wanted to become a dentist,” Alfonso Cruz said. “I told her that I love my job and I love everything about it.”

So, Alfonso Cruz is ready to move forward and has secured a scholarship from Warner University, where she plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Biology. From there, she intends to spend a year and a half preparing to sit for the Dental Admission Test (DAT). What are her plans after dental school? “I’d like to come back to Highlands County and become an associate with Dr. Ruiz,” she said. “This is home for me.”

With personal experience behind her, Alfonso Cruz has her own advice for current and prospective college students: “If you need help, ask for it,” she said. “At SFSC, advisors, professors, and the people in financial aid will help you find a scholarship. Although I didn’t qualify through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), I applied for a scholarship through the SFSC Foundation and received $3,000. I didn’t think I was going to get anything. That money covered almost three semesters for me.

“Even if you only take two or three classes a term, don’t give up. You can do it. Otherwise, 10 years from now, you might regret that you didn’t go for it. When you’ve completed college, you’ll proudly say, “I did that.” If you don’t want to get an Associate in Arts degree, you can explore workforce options. Everything is possible. Don’t make excuses.”