In the interview portion of the 2024 Miss Wisconsin USA pageant, Jealynn Holtz spoke confidently and convincingly with the judges about a subject that differed from her fellow competitors’: access to dental care.
It’s a topic in which Holtz carries a breadth of knowledge, both as a rising fourth-year student in Marquette University School of Dentistry and as someone who experienced limited dental care options growing up in a rural community.
Holtz’s journeys in pageantry and dental education began in high school in her small hometown of Newark, Ohio, located about 40 miles east of Columbus. She entered her first beauty pageant not long after her 16th birthday; around that time, Holtz tried a dental assistant program through a partnership between her high school and a local vocational school. It was in that dental office that she began to learn the realities of rural care.
“To get to a specialist, you were at least going right outside of Columbus,” Holtz says. “It was a 45-minute drive for these families, if not more.”
It was her high school experience working with rural families that inspired Holtz to pursue dentistry with a focus on pediatrics — and gave her a talking point for pageants.
“Coming from such a small town, I’ve seen a lot more very young people getting dentures, a lot of deteriorating oral health, things like that,” she says. “Working in that office was really what showed me that if people had access to care before they got to the point where there was really no going back, some of their dental issues may have been prevented.”
Holtz did her undergraduate studies at Ohio State University — during which time she was crowned USA National Miss Ohio and finished top-six at the nationwide pageant — before enrolling in Marquette’s Pre-Dental Post-Baccalaureate program in 2020 and being admitted to the dental school the following year. She also entered the USA National Miss Wisconsin pageant and was crowned 2021 Miss Badger State, all while using her platform to promote dental health at events, in schools, and at local food pantries and shelters.
“Talking to people in general about the importance of diet for kids, there’s just a lot that people don’t even know affects dental health,” she says. “If we can make a difference in the way kids and their parents think about oral health, it’s going to translate over into adulthood.”
Holtz was sure to bring those efforts to the dental school, too. Earlier this year, she reinvigorated the school’s Pediatric Club. Holtz pushed to get the club — now with more than 30 members — recognized by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentists and is hoping to partner with Milwaukee Public Schools to provide toothbrushes and dental counseling to K-12 students.
Dr. Liz Eggert, a 2019 Marquette dental school graduate and current pediatric dentist in Appleton, recognized Holtz’s tenacity when they first met at a dental school mentor program dinner last year.
“She was very energetic right off the bat,” Eggert says. “She’s always having this itch to learn more about pediatrics. In dental school, you’re typically just trying to get done with your requirements. For her to go above and beyond that, you can tell she has the passion to have a great career in this field.”
But even Eggert was surprised when Holtz told her she would be competing in this year’s Miss Wisconsin USA pageant.
“The summer of your third into fourth year is an exceptionally stressful time,” Eggert explains. “They’re taking board exams; they’re applying to programs for their specialties.”
Holtz is busy with those, too; the 26-year-old is in the process of applying to pediatric residency programs across the country. It’s the multiple time-consuming extracurriculars that Eggert says few students would be able to balance.
“She just does it with such grace and is extraordinarily humble in her way,” she says. “I can tell she has a true passion to help and serve.”
Holtz, who says there’s “a huge need for pediatric dentists,” plans to return to her roots upon completion of her residency in a few years. She hopes to one day practice in a rural area of Wisconsin or Ohio, where she can cut travel time and costs for families who require specialty care.
