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Nine Students Recognized at Dental Program Pinning Ceremony

Dental-Pinning-September-2020Students who graduated this past August with their Dental Hygiene associate degree were honored on Friday, September 18, during an outdoor, socially distant pinning ceremony at Mount Wachusett Community College’s Gardner campus.

This honor is particularly special for this group of students who passed the ADEX Clinical Board Licensing Exam after spending their final semester learning remotely without the opportunity to practice their skills for several months.

“As you know, this year was particularly challenging for our students,” noted Cindy Cadoret, Dental Education Program Director. “In normal times, they spend the final semester of the program honing their clinical skills in preparation for this exam. COVID abruptly halted their clinical training and many students did not pick up an instrument until we were able to safely return to the clinic this summer. Faculty worked hard to develop innovative simulated clinical experiences for students to keep their technical and critical thinking skills sharp. Their hard work paid off.”

“Over the past six months I have continually been in awe of the perseverance and achievements of the MWCC community in the face of unprecedented challenges,” stated James Vander Hooven, President of MWCC. “The dental hygiene students and faculty are a shining example of that resilience and determination.”

Students receiving their Dental Hygiene Pins were:

Katelyn Carmody of Shelburn Falls
Kathryn Graveson of Sutton
Tori Hatch of Westminster
Tori Kirk of Gardner
Savannah LaRoche of Athol
Maria Marinho-Womer of Leominster
Amy Mabardy of Lancaster
Gela Serda of Leominster