Ogeechee Tech’s Dental Assisting Program Awards 6 Pins To Graduates

Six students in the Dental Assisting program at Ogeechee Technical College received their pins in an annual pinning ceremony held at 6:00 pm in the Joseph E. Kennedy Auditorium on July 22.

Yvonne Jenkins, OTC’s Dental Assisting program director, welcomed the crowd of friends and family members and talked about how hard the students worked to earn their diploma.

“This group started out right in the heart of the pandemic, but we are graduating six fantastic students this year. People have no idea how much goes into their education to make them the wonderful healthcare providers they are going to be,” said Jenkins. “They have to learn dental anatomy, human anatomy, procedures, instruments, nutrition, preventive dentistry, and infection control among other things. They have worked very, very hard to get to this point.”

The six students who received their pins were: Mary Bazzle, Zykerriah Davis, Chiquita Johnson, Jaime Lindall-Taros, Shania Mikell, and Brittany Phillips. Jaime Lindall-Taros addressed the crowd after receiving her pin and reminisced on how much she’s grown since the program started.

“I remember my first day at clinicals and how nervous I was to be in an office, now it feels like almost second-nature when I’m there. I’d also like to thank our teachers Mrs. Jenkins and Mrs. Kent for making sure their students perform their best in class. I don’t think I’ve ever had teachers care about their [students’] performance in class as much as they do.”

Though the six graduates walked at the OTC commencement ceremony in May, the pinning ceremony officially commemorates the completion of the program.

To learn more about the Dental Assisting Program at Ogeechee Tech, visit http://www.ogeecheetech.edu/DENA.