CU Dental 2018 - 20

A Tale of Friendship

After homelessness and drugs, Army veteran finds inspiration

through dental student and Heroes Clinic

W

CHRIS CASEY UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

illie Peterson is an Army veteran who has lived through
his share of hard times. He has learned to cherish small
blessings and pay attention to positive role models.
One such role model sat across from him over a string
of dental appointments which saw Willie's once-shy
smile transform into a mouth of pearly whites.
That person is Bill Berguin, a recent graduate
of the CU School of Dental Medicine. Bill has been
the architect of Willie's new dentures and a close
witness to the inspired and ever-upward trajectory of
Willie's life.
Army veteran Willie Peterson, left, proudly shows
off his new teeth, which were created by Bill Berguin,
his Heroes Clinic caregiver.
At a recent dental appointment, Willie was all smiles.
Besides gaining his stellar teeth, the soldier was excited
to fill in Bill about yet another achievement. "Check out
my credit score," he said with a beaming grin. "Also,
I've got a job. I haven't had a good job in a long time."

20

CU DENTAL 2018

'HE'S A GOOD MAN'
Willie met Bill about a year ago when he became the
first Pathway 1 patient in the dental school's Heroes
Clinic, a Delta Dental of Colorado-sponsored program
which provides free and discounted dental care to
military veterans. Pathway 1 provides dental care
to veterans served through the Bill Daniels Veteran
Services Center, which helps link homeless veterans
to jobs.
They come from different backgrounds - Willie is
from Wisconsin and Bill hails from the Western Slope -
but they bonded during Willie's many visits to the dental
chair. "I got to sit and talk with him about life - where
he's from and what he's doing and how he was trying to
go back to school," Bill said. A few good-natured jabs
also found their way into the conversations. Bill likes to
razz Willie about being a Green Bay Packers fan, while
Willie dishes it right back on the Broncos.



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CU Dental 2018

Tablet of Contents
CU Dental 2018 - Cover1
CU Dental 2018 - Cover2
CU Dental 2018 - Tablet of Contents
CU Dental 2018 - 2
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CU Dental 2018 - Cover3
CU Dental 2018 - Cover4
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