For Dr. Alva M. Smith, it was never too late to follow her dream. And Susquehanna Bank was right there to help it come true.
“We made a decision about a year and a half ago that we wanted to lend to dentists, and she fit that profile,” said Todd Warren, vice president of business banking for Susquehanna Bank, “but really it was her character and her energy.”
With her funding, Smith was able refurbish her own dental practice and buy new machinery.
“I?ve always wanted my own business,” said Smith, whose Burwood Plaza Dental Associates, located in Glen Burnie, has been up and running for two months.
Moonlighting as an office manager for a dental practice, the former Johns Hopkins health plan marketer decided she wanted to go into dentistry 20 years go. Back then, when all she had was a business administration degree from the University of Mississippi, being a dentist was just a vision. But now, it?s a reality.
“It was a lot of work, no joke about it,” the 46-year-old Smith said. “Fortunately for me, I?m a bit of an artist.”
Preparing for the challenge, Smith completed biology credits at Towson University. Next, it was on to dentistry school, and at the age of 32, Smith enrolled at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Dental School.
“That was the hard part, it was a lot of work,” Smith said. “It was a little awkward being older and [already] a professional.”
After graduating in five years from UMB, Smith began working at various practices before deciding after nearly a decade that she was ready to go out on her own. This was far from easy, as a tough credit history and lack of interested banks nearly ended her hopes. Then she found Susquehanna Bank.
“Ultimately the goal is to grow the practice and to serve the community that was once there, and to bring people in,” Smith said. “[I want] to make it a wonderful place for people to come in, to serve the community and the community?s needs.”
As a result of their new focus, Susquehanna Bank has helped about 20 local dentists.
