Smiles all around for NIC students
From left, Carli Daniels of Hayden, Jessica Reineccius of Spirit Lake and Abbey Leon of Rathdrum celebrate their graduation from NIC’s Dental Hygiene program onstage Wednesday, Dec. 14 at Boswell Hall Schuler Performing Arts Center on NIC’s main campus in Coeur d’Alene.
(Photo courtesy NORTH IDAHO COLLEGE/GERRY McCRAY)
Nina McDonnell, 23, of Sandpoint, is awarded her white coat during her graduation from NIC’s Dental Hygiene program onstage Wednesday, Dec. 14 at Boswell Hall Schuler Performing Arts Center on NIC’s main campus in Coeur d’Alene.
Michell Anderson, 40, of Coeur d’Alene, celebrates her graduation from NIC’s Dental Hygiene program in a reception after the ceremony Wednesday, Dec. 14 at Boswell Hall on NIC’s main campus in Coeur d’Alene.
The sounds and smells of a dental office may make some feel uneasy, but for the first graduating class of North Idaho College’s dental hygiene program, those sensations feel like home.
The new program graduated 15 students as their two-year journey cumulated in a graduation ceremony Wednesday, Dec. 14 in Boswell Hall Schuler Performing Arts Center on NIC’s main campus in Coeur d’Alene.
“Our program started in the midst of the pandemic,” class president Carli Daniels, 23, of Hayden said. “On our first day, we all had to sit at least six feet away from each other. Little did we know how close we would become over the next four semesters.”
The program started in January 2021 after years of NIC Dental Hygiene Program Director Janis McClelland trying to get it off the ground.
“Everyone in their life has a dream, or two or three,” McClelland said during the ceremony. “One of my dreams was to be a dental hygiene program director at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene. Tonight, not only has my dream come true, but I have got to witness these 15 beautiful young ladies have their dreams come true with mine.”
Students learned in the classroom and through regular dental clinics where they practiced their skills in a local clinic in partnership with Heritage Health Dental Clinic, and last semester, in the college’s fully-functional on-campus dental clinic. The students were supervised by program instructors and local dentists while applying low-cost treatment available to the public.
“We have had friends, family and community members that have helped us through this program and then in turn we get to help them,” graduate Abbey Leon, 22, of Rathdrum said. “Just getting to know all these different hygienists that are our teachers and role models makes me feel like I just have a family outside of my own family, and I find that really special.”
McClelland said that the need for hygienists in the area is high and the next class starts in January. The program admits students every other year, and the next application cycle opens in June 2024 for enrollment in January 2025.
“We’re really lucky that a lot of us already have jobs lined up,” Leon said. “It just says a lot for the need of dental hygiene in the community and how lucky we are to graduate and feel like we are needed.”
