Serving smiles across the board: Meet Kendall Buchan, Ohio State’s graduate student trustee

Garret Travers
Thu, 19 Dec 2024 05:20:29 +0000
Campus, Instagram Page, News, Academic Affairs & Student Life, administration, and Master Planning & Facilities, Ann Arbor, athletics, board of trustees, campus, College of Dentistry Student Government Association, dentistry, doctor, feature, graduate student, higher education, John W. Zeiger, Kendall C. Buchan, Legal Audit Risk & Compliance, Michigan State University, ohio state college of dentistry, ohio state university board of trustees, profile, student board of trustees

Kendall C. Buchan, Ohio State’s newest graduate student trustee, began her two-year term Oct. 18. As a prosthodontics resident in the college of dentistry, Buchan shares her path through service and education that led her to her current role. Credit: Courtesy of The Ohio State University

Dr. Kendall Buchan, a prosthodontics resident at Ohio State’s College of Dentistry, is the university’s newest graduate student representative on the Board of Trustees.?

Buchan began her two-year term Oct. 18. Roughly two months into this appointment, Buchan reflects on her education and service efforts, which prompted her to pursue a position with the chief fiduciary and strategic body of the university.?

Education

Buchan was born and raised in Battle Creek, Michigan, which is about an hour outside of Ann Arbor. She studied human biology at Michigan State University for her undergraduate degree and sought to attend a higher education institution for dentistry.?

As a native of “that state up north,” Buchan said she would have never guessed she would end up at Ohio State.

“When you’re from Michigan, you kind of just grow up not liking the state of Ohio,” Buchan said. “It reminded me a lot of Michigan State, actually; just, the people seemed so down to earth. So then, I fell in love with it, and then when I got accepted, it was kind of a no-brainer.”?

Despite the anti-Ohio mindset Buchan developed while living in Michigan, she said her favorite part about attending Ohio State has been the people.?

“I just feel very passionate about the College of Dentistry, especially [about] the people there,” Buchan said. “It provides an awesome education, and it just feels like home now.”?

Buchan graduated from Ohio State’s College of Dentistry in May 2023, officially earning her Doctor of Dental Surgery. After graduation, Buchan kicked off the next stage of her education — her residency.

Buchan said she specializes in prosthodontics, an area of study dedicated to tooth reconstruction, crowns, implants and dentures for “complex cases.” She said these challenging dental cases will allow her to explore new areas of? “planning and problem-solving,” ultimately allowing her to gain experience with more difficult pediatric dental cases.?

“I also really want to work with kids with different craniofacial syndromes, and I have a faculty member there who works a lot with that population of patients,” Buchan said. “And so, I knew that’s kind of what I wanted to do, and this specialty would equip me to do that in a better way.”?

To accomplish this goal, Buchan said she observed Ohio State faculty member Lisa Knobloch, who is a professor and vice chair of restorative and prosthetic dentistry at the College of Dentistry.?

Knobloch performs procedures on children with a varying range of syndromes that impact their dental health. This work starts with young children — often 4 or 5 years old — and their treatment is finalized when they are done growing at about 22 years old, Buchan said.?

“I just started observing in the clinic on days where there were kids there, and it seemed so rewarding to me,” Buchan said. “So, that’s what really drove me to want to do that.”?

In an email, Knobloch said she recognizes Buchan as a standout provider with a “sincere desire to help these young patients.”

“Dr. Latshaw (Buchan) is a compassionate and skilled clinician,” Knobloch said. “She has provided exceptional care to the craniofacial population of children with congenitally missing teeth. Dr. Latshaw genuinely wants to help and is dedicated to patiently working through solutions to address their concerns. She is a quality individual that I hold in the highest professional regard.”

Notably, Buchan said she expects to complete her dental residency program and solidify her prosthodontics specialization in 2026.?

Path to the Board of Trustees

Buchan said she has participated in many student organizations throughout her higher education journey to better serve the communities around her. She said her favorite way to get involved, however, was through student government.?

While receiving her DDS from the College of Dentistry, Buchan said she served as the vice president and president of the College of Dentistry Student Government Association.

“I really [loved] that because it was working with students, but it was also working with staff, faculty and administration too,” Buchan said. “So, it kind of reminded me of like a mini version of what I’m doing now because, again, you are a student representative, but you’re not only representing the students.”?

Buchan said her positive experience with student government led her to apply for the graduate position on the university Board of Trustees. She said though she was previously exposed to the narrow view of being a student, working within student government opened her eyes to the many inner workings of the university that often reside below the surface.?

“I think that that’s definitely what made me interested about being on the board in the first place, was just knowing that I learned so much in my role as student government, that I wanted that same type of experience in grad school,” Buchan said.?

This year, Buchan said she received a message from a retired dean of graduate studies at the College of Dentistry, John D. Walters, which put the Board of Trustees on Buchan’s radar.?

“I had no idea that our Board of Trustees even had student members,” Buchan said.?

Buchan said she began looking into the role’s application process and responsibilities, and initially thought it was “really scary, really intimidating and really out of [her] league.” And yet, she said it was this very mindset that gave her the courage to apply.?

“I feel like in the past, that’s been a good indicator of, well, that means you should at least try,” Buchan said. “If it’s out of my comfort zone, then I should at least go for it.”?

From there, Buchan said she attended informational meetings, filled out many “lengthy applications” and was called to interviews with “rapid-fire questions.” The final round of applications even included an interview with staff at Gov. Mike DeWine’s office, she said.?

After the end of the application process, Buchan said she waited six months until she finally heard she would be appointed in the fall of this year.?

“Now, never in a million years, did I think I would actually be appointed, so that was a whole different surprise,” Buchan said. “But I’m really glad that I went for [it] even in the process when I still didn’t think that I really had a chance. It still pushed me, even the interview process and things. So I was thankful that I even had those opportunities.”

Working as a student trustee

Buchan said her role thus far has included a lot of listening and learning, as she has participated in numerous trustee meetings, including executive sessions, for the four total committees she serves on: Academic Affairs & Student Life, Athletics, Legal, Audit, Risk & Compliance and Master Planning & Facilities.?

“It’s not just my job to represent the students, but I do have a student perspective to offer, so I think I’m still figuring out what it exactly looks like to serve on the board,” Buchan said. “But a lot of it is just attending meetings, preparing for those, asking questions when we have questions and offering any sort of input that I might have.”?

During her introduction to the board, Buchan said it was intimidating “sitting at a table with people who have a lot more experience” than her. Even so, she said she finds the board to be welcoming and open to valuable student trustee feedback.?

John W. Zeiger, university Board of Trustees chair, oversees the trustees. In a written statement, he said he looks forward to working with Buchan as she serves her two-year term on the board.?

“Dr. Buchan is a wonderful addition to the Board of Trustees,” Zeiger said. “She has distinguished herself as an academically gifted student at Ohio State and is committed to serving others on campus and in our wider community. We trust that Kendall will do an exceptional job representing the university and serving as our graduate student trustee.”

The undergraduate student position — currently held by Josh Kerner, a third-year in business — will be vacant following spring 2025, Buchan said. With the position opening to applicants, Buchan shared her advice for any undergraduate student who might consider applying for the role.?

“I think if it scares you, you should go for it,” Buchan said. “This isn’t about any trustee as an individual. It’s not about the prestige of it or the title. It’s about wanting what’s best for the university, and working hard to give your perspective and to make good decisions for the university as a whole.”?