Like many of his classmates, the odds were stacked against Kristian Mendoza ever entering medical school.
He was raised by a single mother who migrated to the Yakima Valley from Mexico at a very young age and dropped out in middle school to provide for her sons. Mendoza himself first learned English in kindergarten growing up in Mabton. And at age 16, he discovered that he was going to become a father himself.
“I grew up without knowing the identity of my biological father,” Mendoza said. “To me, becoming a father was a blessing. I had the opportunity to become an incredible father to my daughter, something I never experienced myself.”
With a fire lit inside him, Mendoza would earn all A’s his junior and senior years of high school. After high school, he earned his bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene from 鶹Ƶ. And now, after seven years working as a dental hygienist, he’s one of five former YVC students who are members of the inaugural cohort of Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences’ new doctor of dental medicine program.
“PNWU is all about training students so they give back to their community and we keep doctors and dentists and other medical professionals in our community,” Mendoza said. “For me this is home, from Yakima all the way to Tri-Cities. So knowing that eventually I’m going to be able to work and serve the people who have helped me get to where I am is huge.”
ABOVE: YVC alumni Kristian Mendoza, left, and Alexa Batten, right, in a group study session at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in August 2025. TOP: YVC alumni in the inaugural cohort of PNWU's doctor of dental medicine program work on a training model at the institution.
Drawn to serve
Like Mendoza, all 36 students in PNWU’s inaugural dental cohort hail from rural and underserved communities.
Maricela Salazar, who graduated from YVC’s dental hygiene program in 2008, is the daughter of migrant farmworkers. In her early years, Salazar’s family frequently moved. She’d attend as many as 10 different schools over a single year until middle school, when the family settled in Yakima.
“We never really got to have preventative health care,” Salazar said. “The only dental visit that I had from infancy up until middle school was a mobile dental clinic that went to a migrant camp in Michigan. I was experiencing a lot of dental pain and it was at that mobile outreach unit where they were able to help me get out of that pain. That inspired me to want to pursue dentistry.”
She became the first person in her family to graduate from high school and college. And in late July 2025, Salazar added to that list of firsts when she started orientation with her classmates in .
YVC alumnus Maricela Salazar, center, during a class taught by PNWU Professor of Dental Hygiene Maxine Janis, standing. Janis also is a YVC alumnus and past recipient of the college's Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Based in Yakima, the school is focused on preparing dentists who want to serve in rural and underserved communities in the Pacific Northwest. During their program, Salazar and her classmates will gain hands-on experience while providing care to underserved communities in the Yakima Valley thanks to PNWU’s partnerships with health care providers such as Yakima Neighborhood Health Services and the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic.
Alexa Batten, a 2019 graduate of YVC’s dental hygiene program, also was drawn to PNWU because of her desire to serve in the place where she was born and raised.
Staying close to friends and family was an important factor in completing her education first at YVC and now at PNWU, Batten said, especially since she and her husband have started their own family.
“In this case I would not be needing to make a huge sacrifice in relocating my family and my support system is here to help me with my kids when needed so I can be successful in school,” Batten said.
Since becoming a dental hygienist, Batten has encountered many patients who haven’t had an opportunity to learn about the importance of dental health.
“A lot of people don’t understand what treatment they need,” she said. “They do not know what they are doing in their everyday lives that can escalate the formation of decay or how they can prevent decay from occurring. As a hygienist, it’s been rewarding that I can educate patients on how to maintain good oral hygiene.”
"Knowing that eventually I’m going to be able to work and serve the people who have helped me get to where I am is huge."
— Kristian Mendoza
Prepared for success
Salazar said her education at YVC was essential preparation for dental school. In particular, she recalled a biology course taught by Jerred Seveyka.
“I thought I was a good student, but that class was so hard for me,” Salazar said. “He’s a very challenging instructor but I think that was so important to prepare me for what it was going to take to be a competitive candidate for dental school.”
She worked on developing learning strategies that would help her be successful, including taking advantage of open labs and using flash cards to remember key concepts.
“It was a wakeup call, but I think it was also inspiring,” Salazar said. “He really did prepare me for what was to come once I was in the dental hygiene program. I think if it were not for his class and [fellow YVC biology instructor Claire] Carpenter's class, I would say that academically I probably wouldn't have been able to survive.”
And when it came time to apply to PNWU’s program, Salazar would reconnect with Seveyka and Carpenter to provide letters of recommendation.
Mendoza also noted that the rigor of YVC’s dental hygiene program gave him the skills and experience needed to succeed as a dental hygienist and pursue further education.
“It’s intense, but the faculty at YVC prepare you for the real world,” Mendoza said. “The instructors we have are very detailed. They are hard on us, but that’s because they want us to succeed.”
He recalled the importance of getting individual mentorship from Dental Hygiene Coordinator Cheri Podruzny and other YVC instructors.
“They took the time to help one-on-one and make sure that we were successful providers,” Mendoza said. “The college has been amazing to me and my family for sure.”
Former YVC students in the inaugural doctor of dental medicine cohort at PNWU pose for a group photo. From left to right: Brooke Hussey, Kristian Mendoza, Alexa Batten, Maricela Salazar and Ryan Thompson.
Making history
Interviewed a few weeks into the dental medicine program, Batten called the experience a dream come true.
“The entire staff [at PNWU] has been so helpful in ensuring my success in the program and the students are amazing,” she said. “During orientation we had the chance to share our journey stories and get to know each other better. I learned where everybody is from and what inspired them and brought them here to PNWU School of Dental Medicine. We all have worked very hard to make it here.”
From the start, Batten said the program has challenged each member of the inaugural program to become the best version of themselves.
“They want to make sure we are prepared ethically and competent in our skills as a provider so that when we graduate, we can treat our patients with confidence,” Batten said.
Coming from Mabton, Mendoza appreciates how supported he’s felt starting PNWU’s dental program.
“Being from a little town, sometimes you kind of have to learn things on your own,” he said. “Here at PNWU, I have a big support system, like a big family in a way. That’s helped me believe in myself that I can do this.”
And once Mendoza completes his doctor of dental medicine, he wants to continue giving back to the people and community who helped him reach this point.
“Mabton is where I called home for all my childhood and this town means the world to me,” he said. “My mother raised me to always remember where we come from, and I have always done my best to give back to this place I love.”
Story and photos by Dustin Wunderlich, director of community relations.