Dan Hammer '07, '11, helping wounded warriors
The former men's volleyball player is continuing to use his hands for good as an oral surgeon resident helping our wounded warriors
When the U.S. Department of Defense coordinates a diplomatic mission to perform life-altering medical treatments, people like Dan Hammer '07, '11 are on the team.
Hammer recently returned from a trip to the Dominican Republic where he conducted 60 cleft palate procedures in just two weeks, then spent his downtime educating local doctors on his techniques. The oral and maxillofacial surgeon resident is no stranger to using his talents for leadership and service. As a Wounded Warriors Project doctor and advocate, Hammer works to make a difference in the lives of soldiers who were injured while serving.
As a biology major in the College of the Pacific, Hammer played on the men's volleyball team and served as head of the Pacific Student Athletic Council. He began college set on attending medical school, but after a few internships, he started to think differently. A professor suggested he shadow students at Pacific's Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, and Hammer took the advice, quickly finding a better fit.
Armed with a degree from Dugoni, Hammer spent 10 months with the U.S. Marines as a dental officer, assisting with pre-deployment dental emergencies. He then moved to Bethesda, Maryland, to begin a four-year residency with the U.S. Navy at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. There he started working with the Wounded Warrior Project and discovered his calling: performing facial and oral reconstruction for America's heroes.
"It's brought me the biggest challenges of my life, but I absolutely love my work," Hammer said. "It makes you take time to be thankful for what you have and not take things for granted. You might get angry or frustrated during the day for something as small as not having your cell phone charged, but you think about what these people are going through, and you realize your small problems are not really that significant."
Hammer also serves as president of the Resident Organization of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, a nonprofit association that serves about 1,200 oral medical specialists nation wide. After concluding his residency at Walter Reed, Hammer hopes to secure a fellowship in head and neck oncology, with an ultimate goal to improve techniques in treating wounded warriors.
And if the Department of Defense calls again, he's always ready to jump into service.