OC DENTAL HYGIENE PROGRAM AWARDED $25,000
Philanthropist Helen Yunker has donated $25,000 to the Oxnard College Foundation to be awarded to the Oxnard College Dental Hygiene Program to create an endowment scholarship to annually benefit a continuing Oxnard College student enrolled in the program.
Estate planner John Avera, representing Mrs. Yunker, presented the check to Dental Hygiene instructor Dr. Richard Enriquez and program coordinator Christine Tafoya on July 13 and explained Mrs. Yunker's intent to help future dental hygiene students. The program is so rigorous and time-consuming that many of the students quit jobs and commit all their time to study, sometimes facing financial hardship trying to complete the program. Avera is more knowledgeable than most since he fully supported his wife Michelle's decision to become a dental hygienist. She graduated with the class of 2005 and now is a successful dental hygienist working for a Thousand Oaks dentist.
"You're thanking me (for bringing forth the donation) but as a member of the community I'm thanking Oxnard College for this outstanding program," he added.
The OC Dental Hygiene program, founded in 1997, has frequently been rated as one of the top community college programs in the U.S. with its students achieving a 100 percent pass rate on the National Board exams. The program is expanding this Fall 2007 with the addition of the Dental Assisting Program for students who wish to earn a Certificate of Completion and be certified by the State of California to take x-rays, be trained to perform coronal polishing and will be eligible to take the California Registered Dental Assistant's Examination and the National Certification Examination for Dental Assistants.
The new Dental Assisting Program at Oxnard College includes patient care experiences in a full-equipped, on site facility and externship experiences in clinics and dental offices.
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