Hutcheson participates in CCHS program

PHIL CAMPBELL — Rising Phil Campbell High School senior Hudson Hutcheson spent most of his summer at the University of Alabama.

An aspiring dentist, he was one of only three students in the state to take part in the university’s College of Community Health Sciences (CCHS) Rural Dental Health Scholars Program.

He spent five weeks taking college courses for credit, shadowing current students, touring medical school facilities and learning how best to prepare for beginning a dental education.

“I would have to say getting to tour the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s dental school was my favorite part,” Hutcheson said. “We got to speak with current students who are almost finished with their education and ask them questions about what it’s like and how they got there.

“It was interesting to really talk to these people about tips and how they have managed.”

Eventually, Hutcheson hopes to find himself in the same position.

While his summer program was just step one on the CCHS Rural Health Leaders Pipeline, he intends to attend the second phase of the pipeline next summer. He’ll participate while getting his undergraduate education at UA and then pursue dental school at UAB.

However, Hutcheson said his path forward was not always so clear. Until the summer of 2024, he was not sure what he wanted to do with his future, and sometimes, he found himself leaning toward law.

However, through a family acquaintance, Hutcheson had the opportunity to shadow a dentist.

“I went and shadowed him around 50 hours, and I fell in love with it,” Hutcheson said.

He noted the combination of patient relationship and creativity through making molds and utilizing technology piqued his interest, but it was watching patients learn to love their smiles that helped him realize dentistry was his future calling.

“When you experience joy, when you’re laughing or having a happy moment in a picture — so many ways you express feelings and emotions are through your smile,” Hutcheson said. “So many people are insecure about their smiles, and when you can be part of helping them forget that worry and smile freely, it’s a great feeling.”

Hutcheson began to apply for the Rural Dental Health Scholars program last winter. He felt nervous throughout the application and acceptance process. However, once the program began, he said he felt right at home.

Every day, he and the other students had a small taste of college life — they got to live on and explore campus and took an English and chemistry class — while also meeting professionals in various medical fields, including dentistry, who offered insight into their professional lives and what it took to get there.

Hutcheson said that prior to the program, he was not 100% sure he wanted to practice dentistry in a rural community.

Now, he feels sure.

“I think it would be interesting to practice in a rural area,” he said. “I didn’t realize how many severely rural areas there were in Alabama, and that limits people’s ability to receive care and treatment for certain conditions.

“I’m thankful for this program and how it changed me.”