Growing up I was never sure of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

My junior

year I took a chemistry class that ended up shaping me and my goals as to what I wanted out of a

career. My teacher was amazing, he made me love learning chemistry. I looked forward to class

every day. I was so interested in a subject that I had always struggled with, so I decided that year

that I wanted to be an educator. Fresh out of high school, I believed that I wanted to be a high

school chemistry teacher. As I started following this educational path, I realized it wasn’t the

right fit for me. Something didn’t seem to click, and I didn’t feel like I was on the right path. The

next few years I struggled to find where I fit in school and what I wanted to do.

Becoming a part of the Kirkwood Community College Dental Hygiene program is where

I feel I found my calling. This career path checks all the boxes for me; I get to educate my

patients and I get to help others in a healthcare field that makes me feel like I’m making a

difference. While these past two years of my life have been far from easy, and a lot of tears have

been shed, I have grown so much, not only as a caregiver, but as a person. I cannot wait to see

where this career takes me because after I graduate, I am not done learning. My teachers, clinic

instructors and classmates have all inspired me. My goal is to become an instructor at a dental

hygiene program someday, so I can help inspire others who want to make a difference in others’

lives.

I have got to experience so many things throughout the past two years. Things that scared

me in the beginning like being terrified while walking out to the clinic lobby to meet my first

patient and teaching children in a school gym about brushing in flossing, seem second nature

now. In the beginning, I was so nervous before and during clinic that I would shake. I would be

both emotionally and physically exhausted each day after clinic. As my skills grew, so did my

confidence and my motivation to succeed in the program. There were many days I didn’t feel
good enough and I questioned if I would make it to graduation, but I found an amazing support

system within my teachers and my classmates.

I was lucky enough to be able to go to Jamaica on a dental mission trip during the

summer of 2018 and help out the locals in a rural part of the country. I learned so much from the

other volunteers on the trip, but I feel like I gained the most from the people we were treating.

They were so thankful for our time and services. These were people who would drive hours in

the middle of the night to come to the dental clinic. They would sit and wait in line, sometimes

as early as 4 AM, just to see us. The power on the island would sometimes randomly shut off for

periods of time, a lot of the handpieces didn’t work or were broken and there was no air

conditioning. We learned to work with what we had to provide the best care possible. It was an

amazing experience and I can’t wait to go on similar mission trips in the future.

When I started this program two years ago, I had almost no dental knowledge. I had

never even taken a dental anatomy class. I cannot believe how far I’ve come since then. One of

my instructors told us, “You graduate knowing only one-third of what you will know after a few

years of working in the real world,” and I hope she is right. I want to know absorb as much

information as possible. I look forward to my career as a dental hygienist and am so proud this is

the profession I chose. I look up to all my instructors and can only hope to be as educated in this

field as they are someday. I’m graduating this program knowing that this is not my final step in

my education, I will be a life-long learner. I’m thankful for the ups and downs the past two years

have given me and the friendships I’ve made with my classmates along the way.