Ask most 6-year-olds what they want to be when they grow up, and there will be a lot of general answers involving doctors and athletes and astronauts.
Gaby Campis was a bit more specific. “I told people I wanted to be a maxillofacial surgeon,” she says with a laugh. “Both my parents are doctors, so I grew up around that type of terminology.”
Campis also grew up with a love of going to the dentist. She says most of her baby teeth did not fall out naturally, so she had numerous dental appointments to have them pulled. Instead of dreading those moments, Campis looked forward to the visits like they were a birthday party.
“I’d get so excited. I’d count down the days until my next dental appointment. I couldn’t wait,” Campis says. “Dentistry has always been the dream for me, and it’s coming true now.”
That’s because Campis is wrapping up her first year of the D.M.D. program in the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry. She is attending dental school at UAB with the assistance of the Health Professions Scholarship Program through the United States Air Force. Campis officially was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in March, and upon graduation from the SOD will serve as a dentist in the USAF.
Campis was born in Huntsville, spent much of her childhood living in Puerto Rico, then moved with her family to Florida in 2016. She majored in biomedical sciences at UCF, and also served in the school’s ROTC program, before graduating in 2024.
While Campis originally planned to stay in Florida for dental school, she says her mother encouraged her to consider the UAB SOD. The two of them made the trip to Birmingham for a visit, and Campis quickly was convinced that this is where she wanted to be.
“I loved the school. I loved Birmingham,” Campis says. “There was a part of me that wanted to stay in Florida instead of moving to a place where none of my family is. But this is such a great school, so I thought, let’s just do it. Then when I went to Welcome Day, any doubts I might have had just went away. It was a great experience.”
The great experiences have continued throughout Campis’ first year in the SOD. She has been particularly impressed with how quickly she has been able to start seeing what takes place in the clinic, providing her with hands-on learning opportunities.
“I’ve been seeing some very interesting things that I knew we did, but I had no idea what the steps were,” Campis says. “(For example), I love seeing people make dentures. That is a very intriguing process. And then we learned how to (administer) anesthesia. Injecting somebody for the first time can be a little nerve-wracking.”
Campis says she has not thought too much about her future plans, especially since she is still so early in her SOD education and already has a commitment to serve in the Air Force afterward. In addition, Campis plans to get married in December. So she has a lot going on right now.
But the dentistry dreams of that 6-year-old still remain the long-term goal. And while Campis is uncertain whether she will pursue the surgical aspects, she continues to be fascinated by the aesthetics of the profession.
“I love that we get to work with our hands and make something beautiful that impacts people,” Campis says. “A pretty smile can really change somebody’s life. We basically get to do art that helps somebody live their life better. I love that.”