myers-george

SOUTH CAROLINA
George Myers ’65 and ’72
Volunteer dentist, Medicine Clinic – Hilton Head Island, SC

George Myers (D.D.S. ’65, M.S. ’72) remembers the exact day he decided to become a dentist: Oct. 4, 1957.

“I was a junior in high school and had no idea what I would become. The TV news that morning announced that the Soviet Union had successfully launched the first orbiting space satellite, Sputnik, beating the U.S. to the punch,” Myers says. “We were now in the space race, and we were behind.”

The federal government immediately began encouraging schools to produce engineers and scientists. That same week, Myers went to see his family dentist, who was a UMKC graduate.

“The more he talked, the better it sounded,” Myers said. “I decided then and there that was where my future lay.”

A few years later, Myers was studying dentistry at UMKC. He says a lot of things have changed since he was taking classes. One of the most noticeable? The cost.

“This will amaze you. Regular tuition was $300 per semester, and [my mother’s] faculty discount was 90 percent, so my cost was $30 per semester,” Myers says. “I was fortunate to graduate with no student loans or debt. Obviously, times have changed.”

When Myers retired from dentistry, he wasn’t ready to give up the profession entirely. So he started working with the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic, providing free dental care to patients on Hilton Head Island, S.C. The majority of his patients work in the tourism industry.

Myers says volunteering is a way to show gratitude for the many blessings he’s received over his lifetime.

“Winston Churchill was quoted as saying, ‘We make a living from what we get, but we make a life from what we give.’ I intend to cheerfully give back to my community for as long as my mind and body will allow.”

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