Pivoting only seems like a simple basketball skill. But when executed well and at the right moment, it creates space — space to move, break into action and change the game.
Dexter Mack knows all about changing the game. Graduating this year with associate degrees in philosophy and general science, the Watts native is now ready to take the next step toward his dream of studying neuroscience. It's a far cry from the expectations he'd grown up with.
"It's almost like breaking a curse," says Dexter, who is the first in his family to attend college. "I'm just grateful that I had the opportunities in my life to be able to do all this."
Studying neuroscience is a different path than what Dexter had envisioned growing up. Back in high school, he'd been set on turning basketball — a sport he lived and breathed for years, a sport he loved — into a professional career. But during his junior year, he discovered his passion for the sport waning, and it showed on the court. It was a realization that stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Basketball was this thing I'd been good at," Dexter explains. "The thing people had known me for my entire life. And all of a sudden, it wasn't working for me."
But rather than force something that just didn't feel right anymore, Dexter took a moment to look around for another opportunity. That was when he came across a TED Talk on neuroscience. Soon enough, he was consuming everything he could about the subject and eventually realized that this was what he wanted to pursue.
Dexter ran with it. During his senior year of high school, he shifted his attention to academics — an area he'd never truly focused on before — and garnered straight A's. At the same time, he was teaching himself how to code, an increasingly vital skill in neuroscience data analysis.
After graduating high school, Dexter took the advice of a friend and enrolled at Santa Monica College. There, he found not only the rigorous academic coursework he needed to transfer to a four-year university, but faculty and staff who went out of their way to help him succeed. Dexter quickly signed up for the STEM MÁS Program, Scholars Program and Black Collegians.
"Everybody here is so invested in your future," Dexter says of SMC staff and faculty. Knowing all these people are rooting for you — it makes a difference."
Even as he doubled down on his classes — calculus, statistics, chemistry and more — Dexter was also searching for internships and other opportunities that would help him stand out in his chosen field. His efforts paid off when, in 2024, he was tapped for a prestigious research internship at UCLA's Ajijola Lab, giving him the opportunity to learn more about neuro-cardiology translational research. Dexter followed that up with a stint as an undergraduate researcher in the Stanford Science Small Groups Program, which gave him the chance to support research in neurobiology, brain physiology, and medical neurosciences. That same year, he also participated in UCLA's IDEA Hacks, where he joined a team working on a device that would help users with vision impairment adapt to new environments.
For most students, that would be more than enough. But Dexter still finds time and energy to do more. Several days a week, he can be found at the STEM Lab, where he works as a tutor, helping students in math, chemistry and computer science. He even finds time to volunteer as a youth trainer at the Anaheim-based basketball academy where he honed his game.
Dexter's just getting started. After graduation, he'll head to UC San Diego for a second research internship. Once that wraps, he plans to transfer as a philosophy major to one of the four-year universities he's been accepted to—a list that currently includes UCLA and UC Berkeley, with a few more still pending.
Eventually, Dexter says, he plans to pursue an MD-PhD in neuroscience and join the ranks of physician-scientists who bridge the gap between lab discoveries and clinical care.
"It's a long path," he says of the road he's chosen. "But if, at the end of it, I have the skills and knowledge to better care for people, then that's a win-win."
For anyone looking to change the direction of their life, he offers one piece of advice:
"Trust yourself," he says. "Trust your framework of belief, and everything will work out."
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(Editorial Note: Mack was previously also featured in the Aug. 26, 2024 issue of SMC in Focus).
SMC in Focus Volume XI, Issue 3
Future Designs
Navy veteran Antonio Renoj graduates having found purpose, community and a creative future at Santa Monica College. Read Article
From Center Line to Byline
Adriana Brady was only two weeks into her tenure as its new editor-in-chief when the devastating Los Angeles fires broke out. Read Article
Victoria’s Big Victory
It took eight years, but Victoria Salazar finally received the “thick envelope” from UC San Diego. The 2025 graduating student speaker shares her story of self-reliance, tenacity and hope. Read Article
A New Chapter for SMC’s Creative Writing Program
For the first time, SMC’s Creative Writing Program is offering a 12-unit creative writing certificate for anyone who wants to take their writing to the next level. Read Article
Bragging Rights
A dean receives a statewide award for leadership excellence. A police chief marches from from Auschwitz to Birkenau. An English prof. has a new short story out. Read Article
The Art of the Pivot
Graduating this year with associate degrees in philosophy and general science, Dexter Mack is ready to take the next step toward his dream of studying neuroscience. Read Article