Cool Cat: Alex Olvera-Vargas

Q&A by Laura Allen, photos supplied by Laura Allen and Alex Olvera-Vargas

Alex Olvera-Vargas is a biomedical science major and president of the dental club at CWU. Entering her senior year with plans to go to dental school and start her own dental practice in a low-income, rural area, she is incredibly community-focused and people-centered. At Dental Club, she has created and found a community, helping other pre-dental students get the resources and information they need to enter their field. Here is a little bit about what Alex had to share about the dental club, her role as president, her career goals, and why she volunteers.

Q: What is your major, and what clubs are you involved in? If you have any roles in these clubs, what are they?

A: My major is biomedical science. I’m currently the president of Dental Club. I have been to a few events for Chemistry Club, but no major roles or anything like that.

Q: What are your responsibilities as the president of the dental club, and what are your goals in that role?

A: My responsibilities involve overseeing the club in general. We have other positions, so I coordinate with the other officers. Mainly, what I do is plan all the meetings. I figure out what we’re going to do each quarter, and I plan ahead for every meeting. If we’re having guest speakers, I am usually the one who reaches out to the guest speakers. And then I also take ideas. I always ask for ideas from everyone else…and then I try to find resources based on that. I also get most of the snacks. We always offer snacks, so I usually drive to Yakima and go to Costco to get snacks. I’m the one who also coordinates all the activities with the university, so if there’s an involvement fair or things like that, I’m the one who coordinates that and volunteers.

My main goal with Dental Club was always to connect with other pre-dental students. When I first transferred to Centra, it was hard to find other students like myself who were interested in dentistry and wanted a career out of it. Dental Club is a way to connect, give each other resources, and help each other, and I think we’ve definitely done that. If anybody hears about an event or anything like that, they either send it to me or they send it to a group chat, and I always share it with everyone else. So I think we’ve helped each other a lot.

Q: What is your favorite thing about being part of Dental Club?

A: My favorite thing about being part of Dental Club is probably the people. I’ve made a lot of close friends that I could see myself being friends with for the rest of my life…Even if there are some members who just come sometimes and don’t go to every meeting. Just seeing them and meeting new people is really interesting. And getting to hear everyone’s stories, where they’re from, and what everyone wants to do. Dentistry is very big. There are lots of specialties and professions that you can go into under dentistry…It’s a great way to network. People know other people who are involved in the dental field already, they introduce you, and you get to meet a lot of people that way.

Q: What kind of events or activities does Dental Club usually put on?

A: This quarter, the majority of our events have been a lot of resources and presentations from professionals in the field of dentistry. We've had a couple of dentists, and we've had admissions members from other dental schools who have talked about their school. We've had students from a dental school talk about resources and insights of dental school…We also have some fun events. We've done Jeopardy nights with dental-related things, so that was fun. We're currently planning a soap carving event where you carve teeth out of soap. We like to do a variety of things. We definitely focus on the resources for students; it is kind of my goal to help everyone…We fundraise. We are planning a conference to attend. That's the main gist of it.

Q: What are your plans after college?

A: My plan after college is definitely to go to dental school. I'm going to go to dental school, and I want to become a dentist. My goal has always been to be a pediatric dentist, but I am still open to the idea of general dentistry.

Q: Do you want to start your own dental practice?

A: Yes, eventually I do. I definitely want to work at a community base, just for financial reasons, and I think it would really help me build my confidence as a provider. And then eventually in the future, I do want to open my own practice and focus on low-income rural areas.

Q: What is the process like for applying to dental school? Do you have any advice for people looking to do that?

A: The process is definitely a lot. If you want to go to dental school the fall after graduating from college, you have to apply a year ahead. I'm graduating in the spring of 2026, and I applied in June of 2025, so I applied almost a year ago. The process was a lot of letters of recommendation, personal statements, and personal information. And then the schools you want to go to all have certain questions that are for that school…It was definitely time-consuming and very expensive, but I think it's worth it. And I think that there are a lot of resources that you can reach out to, or other people who are currently applying or have applied.

Q: How else are you involved in the local community? What things do you volunteer for?

A: Here in Ellensburg, I usually volunteer at APOYO. It's a food bank. I did that for a long time, and then in Yakima, back at home, I also volunteered at a lot of food banks. I've mostly been involved in food banks, but I'm also pretty involved in my church back at home. And then here [at CWU] I've sometimes been involved. I like to help. We did the Oktoberfest thing, which was really fun…And then I have done quite a bit of volunteering at dental clinics. I've gone to the elementary schools and done little talks and things like that. I've done a free dental clinic as a dental assistant in Toppenish. So just kind of anything, honestly, if it sounds fun and interesting.

Q: What do you like about volunteering?

A: I would say talking to whoever is there, especially since I speak Spanish. I think that's the most rewarding thing for me, because whenever I come across someone who speaks Spanish and doesn't know English, I can help them. And it makes me feel like I'm making their life easier. I think that's the most rewarding thing for me in English, too, but I definitely connect more with the individuals who speak Spanish, just because I feel like they don't always get that communication. There's always that communication barrier, so being able to do that for them really helps. Makes you feel good.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.