Susan Hahn-Hamamoto, Case Management Specialist

My hometown is Mason City, Iowa – population around 30,000. It’s known for having several buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and for being the hometown of Meredith Wilson who wrote “The Music Man.” The Mason City airport is also the site of the plane crash that ended the lives of Buddy Holly, Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens. Interestingly enough, my dad’s partner was the pathologist in charge at the time of that crash. 
When I was growing up in Mason City, the main employers were Mercy Hospital and a cement plant. We had one public high school, Mason City High School, which I attended. And there was a private Catholic high school and three junior highs. I’m still in contact with friends from elementary school, junior high, and high school. There are about 10 of us who get together. We meet where they live – in Iowa, Minnesota, and Kansas. We also take vacations together in places like Naples, Florida. We planned a trip to Greece and we even bought our plane tickets, but the Covid pandemic prevented us from going.

I wanted to be an actress or a flight attendant, but there were height requirements for flight attendants at that time and I wasn’t tall enough. It was also important for me to pursue a professional career so I went to college and then dental school.

I thought about going to Stanford University, but it was too far from home. I didn’t want to go to a large university, so I opted for a small school that was only a couple of hours away from Mason City. That was St. Olaf College, a private liberal arts school in Northfield, Minnesota. It has about 3,000 undergraduate students and it’s affiliated with the Lutheran Church. My major was psychology.

I earned my DDS degree at the University of Iowa’s College of Dentistry. The campus has about 30,000 students, and it’s just three hours away from my hometown. Like Ohio State, the University of Iowa is located on an urban campus, and it has well-respected medical programs that include dentistry. 

The best job I had as a dentist was the time I spent in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I was in a two-year General Practice Residency program at the University of North Carolina’s Adams School of Dentistry. I learned a lot, and the experience was special because I met my husband there!

The best thing about my job is working with cancer patients who need dental care before, during, or after their cancer treatment. I enjoy helping them with the process of regaining their health.

I serve as a connection between the “Dental Diner and Dives” student group and the university. I assist with documentation needed by the university, such as the group’s goals. The group was formed by dental students who wanted to learn about food preparation and nutrition in relation to their own dental health and the dental health of their future patients. The students also wanted to pursue their love of food and build on that passion from the perspective of dentistry and nutrition.

A blanket, a knife, and – of course – a tooth brush!

I would like to have dinner with Michelle Obama. I think she would be a fun person to hang out with. 

“Hug Day” is a holiday I would invent. To celebrate this new holiday, each person would have to do one act of kindness that day!

“It’s a Wonderful Life” is my all-time favorite movie. It’s about a man who gives up his personal dreams to help others, and it reminds me of the ways we affect those around us and the ways that each of us makes an impact.