Early mornings, lifelong impact: Samuels has come full circle at Creighton
“While my classmates were sleeping in on Saturday mornings, I was studying for the ACT in the Hixson-Lied Science Building—at age 14.”
That was Alvin Samuels, DDS’s introduction to Creighton University. Through the Saturday Academy, a program of the Health Sciences Multicultural and Community Affairs office (HS-MACA), he spent weekends sharpening his academic skills in Hixson-Lied, laying the foundation for a future in healthcare.
Back then, Samuels didn’t know he’d one day return to those same hallways—not as a student, but as a practicing dentist and assistant professor. Or that in the years between, he’d serve in the U.S. Navy, become a father, join a fraternity and learn to reach people not just with knowledge, but with patience, purpose and presence.
A natural fit
“Creighton has always been home,” he says. It was a natural fit, even a “no-brainer,” he says, to apply to Creighton for his undergraduate years. Samuels also had a clear goal since high school: to become a dentist.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology in 2010, but the next step in his journey to dental school wasn’t without challenges. He didn’t get accepted on his first try—a setback that stung deeply after years of careful preparation.
“I feel like I did the majority of everything ‘right’ to get in,” Samuels recalls. “But I made one glaring hiccup: I studied abroad sophomore year without planning my course load properly. I ended up taking the Dental Admissions Test late in the cycle and scored just okay.”
Rather than give up, he enrolled in Creighton’s Predental Postbaccalaureate Program, a move that turned out to be transformative.
“It provided me with DAT prep, structure, an introduction to faculty members and a network of students who shared a similar experience,” he says. “Postbac gave me the extra year to focus and polish the 20+ years’ of work toward my goal of being a dentist.” He also decided to join the Navy.
Service and structure
After graduating from the School of Dentistry in 2015, he served five years on active duty as a dental officer in the U.S. Navy. During his service, he completed advanced training and earned an Advanced Education in General Dentistry certificate at Naval Station Norfolk. He was later stationed aboard the USS George Washington (CVN 73), an aircraft carrier based in Virginia, and concluded his military career at the Navy Medical Readiness Training Unit – Little Creek in Virginia Beach.
Samuels' time in the U.S. Navy changed his life. He treated patients from newly enlisted sailors to high-ranking officers, including an admiral on one occasion.
He says, “It didn’t matter the rank—as a dentist, everyone had the same two questions for me: How long will this take? Is this going to hurt?”
Samuels learned to adapt and to connect with people from all walks of life. The experience reinforced a truth he carries into his work today: “People are people. They just want to be treated with respect and fairness.”
Back home, giving back
When his Navy commitment ended, Samuels returned to Omaha to be closer to family and continue his professional journey. Teaching had always been part of his plan. Since 2022, Samuels has served as an assistant professor of general dentistry at the Creighton School of Dentistry. He also maintains a local dental practice.
“If dentistry didn’t work out, I was going to teach biology. If that didn’t work out, I was going to join the military,” he says. “I was fortunate that life gave me the opportunity to do all three.”
Samuels draws on his wide range of experiences to engage with students. “I know how well military principles work in an academic environment, but sometimes I rely on my Jesuit education experience, being from Omaha, being an Eagle Scout or being an Omaha Central High grad,” he says. “Whatever resonates is what I use to establish a rapport and increase learning.”
Fraternity, fatherhood and finding balance
Samuels is a proud member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
As an only child, he says he “finally got that sense of siblinghood through Sigma.” The fraternity has given him a strong sense of community and connection—both personally and professionally. “In the words of one my founders, Honorable Rev. Leonard F. Morse, “A Sigma man; therefore more than a man,” is a phrase that I often use as motivation to be better.”
Samuels is also a father to a nine-year old daughter, a role that brings both joy and learning. “Being a father has made me more patient. I think that has made me better in academia. With so many students, I try multiple ways to get a point across so that the intended outcome is achieved by all.” The lesson also applies to parenting: “As I learned years ago,” he says, “there is more than one way to tie shoelaces."
A life of purpose
Outside of work, Samuels remains deeply engaged in the Omaha community. When he’s not working, you can catch him at a Sunday matinee at the Omaha Community Playhouse, serving alongside his fraternity brothers with the North Omaha Community Partnership, or he may be marching in the Juneteenth or Omaha Days parades.
“Staying connected to the community is the fun part of life now,” he says. “Patients tell me about their plans for the week without realizing that they are giving me great ideas for me and my daughter!”
Whether he’s treating patients, mentoring students or volunteering in the community, Samuels is doing exactly that—living a life grounded in service, shaped by experience and inspired by the people who helped him find his way home.
