Illinois Valley Community College celebrated twelve Dental Assistant graduates during the annual pinning ceremony on July 29, 2023. The pins are small medallions engraved with the college name and program. The 2023 graduates were the first to use IVCC’s new dental lab, which opened last year in its new location in the gym building and features more workspace and a separate sterilization area. During the ceremony, Zoe Crawford and Kaitlyn Bauman were among the students recognized for outstanding achievement. They were awarded for academic excellence in maintaining a 3.8 or higher GPA in all college credit courses. All 12 graduates maintained GPAs of 3.25 or above on a 4.0 scale.
Rebecca Peura received the Team Player Award that recognized her contributions to establishing and maintaining respect and teamwork critical for an effective dental office. “She is not afraid to work and is willing to put in the time and delegates easily and has a sense of humor that can lighten the mood in any room,” the commendation read.
Audrey Jenkins received the Astounding Assistant Award that recognized her excellence in all aspects of dental assisting. “She … has become so comfortable with patient interaction, it is like she’s been doing it for years.” Jenkins was commended for her willingness to support and instruct her classmates and an outstanding performance in lab that “reflects the hard work she has put in over the course of the last year.”
IVCC’s dental assistant program is one of only four in the state in which graduates can earn expanded-function certification after completing the dental assistant certificate plus additional courses. That means they can perform advanced clinical duties, which has made IVCC’s dental assistant program popular with students and produced graduates who are in demand by dental offices seeking cross-trained professionals, said Heather Seghi, Dental Assistant program coordinator and interim dean of health professions.
“Our program gets students what they need and gives dental offices the skilled professionals they need,” ultimately providing patients better access to more complete dental care under one roof, she said.
IVCC’s program is growing as it seeks to develop a two-year, two-phase degreed program where dental assistant graduates could also complete the dental hygiene phase without leaving IVCC. If the dental hygiene program is awarded accreditation this fall, it could begin accepting students next spring for Fall 2024 classes. IVCC would become the second community college in the state to offer the complete program, Seghi said.
