Though he has retired, Dr. Benjamin Nero is continuing to help students across the nation reach their dreams.
In early December, the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry named a scholarship in honor of Nero, the school’s first black graduate.
Nero, who was raised in Greenwood, has been an orthodontist since 1971. He is now based in Philadelphia, Pa.
He said his family inspired him to succeed. He grew up the youngest of five siblings.
“My parents didn’t force us to do anything, but they let us know we didn’t have many options,” Nero said. “My father saw that there were not many options for small farmers in the future.”
Nero said his dad always pushed for him to be a physician and had a general idea of what he wanted each of his children to grow up like.
Nero walked three miles from his father’s 51-acre farm into the city to attend Broad Street High School in Greenwood. In high school, Nero enjoyed success as a quarterback and captain of the football team from 1954 to 1956.
He led his team to the Northern Division Championship in 1955.
After a brief stint at Tougaloo College, Nero decided the football program there was not strong enough. He began looking into other schools across the nation and found a connection to the University of Kentucky through his high school football coach.
After graduating with a degree in biology in 1962, he was encouraged to enter dental school. While at school, Nero also worked.
“It was tough and a struggle,” Nero said. “It was a new school, and they were only accepting the best they could get. No one worked any harder than I did.”
After college, Nero began a rotating internship at the Einstein Hospital in Philadelphia.
He completed his residency and earned a certificate of specialty in 1971.
Nero now owns private practices in Philadelphia and New Jersey.
He said he recognizes that other students may be struggling as well. After he made a “sizable” contribution to the University of Kentucky’s School of Dentistry, they named a scholarship the Benjamin W. Nero and Robert H. Biggerstaff Diversity Scholarship Fund.
The scholarship was established to support the educational goals of minority students and encourage diversity in dentistry.
In a news release, Sharon P. Turner, dean of the College of Dentistry, expressed the significance of the contribution.
“This type of commitment will help the college realize its mission to promote oral health within Kentucky and beyond,” Turner said.”
Nero said he has been sending letters to colleagues and friends and the checks are coming in.
“I’d like to see us be able to help some struggling college graduates with an effort to ease their way through,” Nero said. “It can be really difficult to find a job. If your parents can’t afford to help, you have to find other ways.”
Nero also served as the second president of the New Era Dental Society of Philadelphia.
Phine Simms, a former patient and friend of Nero’s, who now helps him with news coverage, said Nero has been a role model for young people.
“You really have to be a people person to be successful at this job,” Simms said. “When you sit down in his chair, he makes you feel like you’re the only person in the world. He is so focused on you.”
She said generations of people return to Nero for the care that he has provided in Philadelphia.
“He’s not just treating one patient,” Simms said. “He’s treating their children, and now, some of their children. People bring their family to him and recommend him to others.”
Nero still practices, even though he has “technically” retired. In his recreational time he enjoys playing golf, sometimes with his longtime friend Morgan Freeman.
“I’m not as good as I’d like to be,” Nero joked.
Simms said his love for both his work and recreation has inspired a comparison in her mind.
“Dr. Nero is like the Tiger Woods of orthodontics,” Simms said.
Simms said the scholarship is a good way to remember Nero’s work.
“I think it’s important for people to know his legacy,” Simms said. “He grew up in Mississippi; his grandfather was a slave. He proves that you don’t have to be defined by the circumstances you grew up in.”
