As a child, Raymond Alexander Johnson had a fascination with teeth, often noticing subtle differences in other people’s smiles.

“I was always staring at people’s teeth and noticing the differences,” Johnson said. “I would notice if something was different about one person’s teeth compared to someone else’s.”

That early curiosity would carry him to the top of his graduating class at Howard University College of Dentistry and into a U.S. Navy oral and maxillofacial surgery residency.

“I always enjoyed going to the dentist,” Johnson said. “I just knew I could sit down and look at teeth for a living and be okay with that.”

That early curiosity didn’t translate into a direct path to a career in dentistry. Johnson played football all four years in undergrad at SUNY Brockport in New York and later attempted to play professionally. At the same time, he was trying to position himself for dental school, but dental school admissions proved difficult. His focus on football left him with lackluster grades and Dental Admission Test scores.

“My mom always told me to have a backup plan in case football didn’t work out.” Johnson said.

Johnson applied twice before getting into the Howard University College of Dentistry. The school is the nation’s fifth-oldest dental school and admits fewer than 75 students each year to its flagship Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) program.

Something finally clicked. The same discipline and intensity he brought to football could be applied in the classroom. Johnson describes the turning point simply: he had to “lock in.”

That meant structuring his life around consistency — studying daily, maintaining routines, and prioritizing long-term goals over short-term distractions. When he arrived at Howard in 2022, he built a schedule centered on academics, rest, and fitness.

“I was really studying all the time — weekends, everything,” he said.  

He said the early workouts and long practices on the football field  taught him repetition, accountability, and the importance of doing things you don’t always want to do. 

“Discipline will take you really, really far,” Johnson said. “You’re doing things every day to prepare. You might not like it in the moment, but you still do it.”  

That mindset eventually paid off. In his third year at Howard, Johnson secured funding from the Health Professions Scholarship Program through the U.S. Navy, which covered  tuition and provided a stipend.

Following graduation in May, Johnson will begin a four-year oral and maxillofacial surgery residency at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The training will prepare him to serve as a Navy oral surgeon, fulfilling the service commitment tied to his scholarship.

That mindset also carried him to the top of his class, where he will graduate ranked No. 1 in the same DDS program that he once had trouble getting into.

Johnson is proud of how far he’s come, wearing the  title of first in his family in several areas, including his education, professional, and service to his country.

“I’m the first military, first doctor, first college grad, all of that,” he said. “Discipline and consistency will take you as far as you want to go.”

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