It's Convocation season at Dalhousie, with hundreds of graduates crossing the stage Oct. 20 and 21 in Halifax. Meet one of our newest grads, Steven Mata.
Learn more about Convocation and view webcasts of all the ceremonies at dal.ca/convocation
Steven Mata’s first weeks of dental school haven’t gone as smoothly as a cavity-free checkup, but they haven’t been like pulling teeth, either.
“Fun, difficult, and humbling,” is how Steven describes his early classes. “I came in thinking I’d be studying teeth and the nerves around them, and instead I’m learning every muscle, nerve, bone, joint, and blood vessel from head to toe,” he says of jumping into Dal’s Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) program in August.
Though now a member of the DDS Class of 2030, he’s also among Dal’s 2026 grads, having wrapped up the final credits of his Bachelor of Science in Microbiology & Immunology and Certificate in Medical Humanities over the summer.
As a busy dental student, Steven now spends his days on Dal’s Carleton Campus.
“It’s a recognition of my hard work over the years,” he says of crossing the stage this week. As an undergrad, Steven was certainly busy: his extracurricular achievements include co-founding the Black Science Student Society, serving as president of the Dalhousie Science Scholars and Leaders Society and co-president of the Dalhousie Pre-Dental Society, and representing the Faculty of Science for the Dalhousie Student Union.
His contributions did not go unnoticed: he received a 2025-2026 Faculty Leadership Impact Award and was selected to the Student Leadership Academy’s High Performance Leadership cohort.
Planning a career
Dentistry was always Steven’s goal upon entering Dal. He got interested in the profession as a high school student-athlete at Sacred Heart School of Halifax, when it was a struggle to schedule appointments that didn’t conflict with games or practices.
After getting to know his dentist and finding out about the work-life balance the profession offers, he knew it was a career path he wanted to pursue.
Representation matters to Steven, who recognizes that becoming a dentist offers him the chance to help address the lack of diversity in the field and serve the Black community. “People feel more confident and comfortable seeing someone that looks like them,” he says.
Establishing roots
Steven was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and grew up around the world. His father, Dr. Daddy Mata-Mbemba, now an associate professor in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, and mother, Nadine Lusamba Kalonji, completed graduate degrees in Japan before moving to Toronto and ultimately settling in Halifax.
While used to moving, it made sense to stay local given that Dal boasts one of Canada’s 10 accredited dental schools.
Remaining at Dal also allows him to build on the strong leadership foundations he established as an undergrad. The oldest of four siblings and a former captain of Sacred Heart’s basketball team, Steven’s existing leadership abilities flourished in university, where he had to “come out of his shell” to make connections in a campus community exponentially larger than the small classes he was used to in high school.
“Be comfortable being uncomfortable,” he says, noting that simply getting out there and making the effort is the key.
“Just talking to random people in your classes or showing up to events from different societies, finding people with the same passions, whether that’s going to professional school or having similar backgrounds.”
He describes his leadership style as involving some compromise and give-and-take. “Just trying to be flexible, sometimes leading, sometimes letting others lead you.”
Steven is taking a similarly measured approach to dental school and the challenges that come with it, like trying to balance extracurriculars and a personal life with 10 classes this semester and 60 credit hours over the academic year. “My goal is to come out tenfold more confident in my skills, a little wiser, and with habits that are both healthy and sustainable,” he says.
Words a dentist would surely be proud of.