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Miss Zia

@zia_rameeza

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Orofacial Pain Resident, University of Rochester
Helping international dentists with PASS & CAAPID
Application strategy | Interviews | Mentorship

POSTS STORIES REELS

A little red dress, a thousand lanterns, and a Marrakech night ❤️🏮

📍La Fontaine des Épices

Save this spot for your Marrakech nights the vibes were 😚 ✨

#lafontainedesépices #marakech #morocco #moroccobyyou #morrocotrip by @zia_rameeza

Month One: Residency ✨

I’m exactly where I dreamed of being. Stepping into this residency feels surreal, like walking into a vision I held onto for years. I feel so humbled, grateful, and honestly… on fire with purpose.

To everyone who believed in me: thank you. TRULY! But to those who didn’t, THANK YOU EVEN MORE. You lit a fire in me that never stopped burning.

I’ve been through it all: childhood trauma, heartbreak, generational patterns, losing a parent, bullying, loosing friendships, body image struggles, self-doubt, silence, grief and still, I never stopped believing. In God. In myself. Even in my darkest chapters, I held on.

I’ve learned that you don’t need a stadium of support. Sometimes all it takes is you and maybe one person who sees you.

Here’s to anyone who was doubted by their parents, teachers, relatives, friends, or the world. You are not your circumstances. You are your resilience.

And this? This is just the beginning. 💫

#orofacialpain #orofacialpainspecialist #orofacialpainresident #dentalresident #dentalresidencyprogram #dentalresidentlife #eastmaninstitute #eastmaninstitutefororalhealth #figs #figscrubs by @zia_rameeza

Me.jpg 💕💕 by @zia_rameeza

Just us and the Moroccan sky. 🎈

@marocmontgolfiere

#morocco #marakech #hotairballoons #moroccotravel #moroccovacations by @zia_rameeza

📍Dar el Bacha, Marrakech 🇲🇦

#morocco #marakech #darelbacha #moroccotravel #moroccotrip by @zia_rameeza

Walking through the YSL museum made me think about how we’re all still figuring out our own style. What we like, who we are, and what feels like us when we stop worrying about what everyone else thinks. 🖤

#yslmuseum #museeyvessaintlaurent #ysl #marrakech #morroco by @zia_rameeza

To every internationally trained dentist navigating CAAPID, advanced standing programs, or dental residency applications in the U.S., this one’s for you. 🤎

If I could go back and give my younger self some advice before applying, here’s what I’d tell her.

When I first started this journey, I thought I needed to have everything figured out.

The perfect personal statement. The perfect CV. The perfect answers to every interview question.

I spent so much time trying to figure out what admissions committees wanted to hear that I sometimes forgot the value of my own story.

Moving from India to Canada, and eventually finding my way into a dental residency in the U.S., taught me a lot about starting over, navigating uncertainty, and learning to believe in myself.

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that your journey doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s to be meaningful.

Your experiences matter. Your setbacks matter. The things that didn’t go according to plan matter, too.

And here’s something else I’ve realized now that I’m in residency: getting accepted isn’t the finish line. It’s another beginning. You learn, you grow, you get humbled, and you keep figuring things out.

So please don’t spend your entire application journey trying to become someone you think they’ll find impressive.

Learn to tell your own story. There’s value in it, even in the chapters you wish had gone differently.

And remember to give yourself some credit for how far you’ve already come. 🤍

To my fellow international dentists, what stage of the journey are you in right now? preparing your application, interviewing, or waiting for decisions? I’d love to hear from you. 🫶

Save this for application season, or share it with a fellow dentist who might need the reminder.

#internationaldentist #foreigntraineddentist #caapid #advancedstandingprogram #dentalresidency by @zia_rameeza

Somewhere in between summer and fall 🍁 🍂

#fallvibes #fall #fallfashion #falloutfits #autumn by @zia_rameeza

Turns out residency has been teaching me a lot more than orofacial pain.

Still unlearning. Still learning. Still figuring it out.

#dentist #residency #internationaldentist #dentalstudent #dentista by @zia_rameeza

I am an Autumn 🍂 🍃 🍁 by @zia_rameeza

This & my phone on DND by @zia_rameeza

The little details from our reception that still live rent free in my head. 🤍 by @zia_rameeza