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Posted: March 15, 2016
“I had to get out and move on,” says Daryl Grigsby. “I never thought coming back would be the best decision I ever made.”
Grigsby spent the majority of his childhood in St. Louis, Mo. He was raised in the Blumeyer public housing projects by his father primarily, and at times, his grandmother and aunt.
“I knew we had it harder than most families, but in the projects, our situation wasn’t all that different from anyone else’s,” Grigsby says.
With an insatiable craving for success, he felt it was necessary to move out and move on. He wanted a better life for himself and his family. Providing that better life for those he cared about most was the fuel throughout his educational career.
Academics set Grigsby apart from his peers. He received a full scholarship to Prairie View A&M in Texas after graduating high school. There, he took an interest in healthcare, and upon graduation, he attended two years of medical school.
After some soul searching, Grigsby realized becoming a physician was not what he really wanted. He wanted to work in a field that allowed him to care for others, yet still appeal toward his creative side – art.
When it comes to his artwork, Grigsby is a perfectionist. His preference for perfection is something he fine-tuned throughout his many years of education.
“There is no such thing as wasted time when it comes to bettering yourself,” says Grigsby.
Today, he is a third-year dental student at MOSDOH. He discovered dentistry allows him to care for others while simultaneously fulfilling his artistic need.
“The details are important, especially when you’re dealing with someone’s smile,” Grigsby says.
Smiles are what he wants to help create in a community that has a documented shortage of access to oral healthcare. He wants to help the underserved. He wants to help St. Louis. Now, he’s accomplishing that at the St. Louis Dental Education and Oral Health Clinic.
Leaving St. Louis is something Grigsby thought was best while growing up. However, with a dental school now in St. Louis, he can finally say he’s back where belongs – home.