Sherri at celebration of senior apartment building she helped go smoke free
Life took a strange turn and we headed north to Cincinnati, Ohio, and I discovered that I was living five minutes from a dental hygiene program. Once again I was faced with a wait list, but this time I worked hard on prerequisites, was accepted--and after many years of juggling family, health issues, and parent illnesses--I became a dental hygienist in 1995 at the age of 42. The moment I stood on that stage and took the dental hygiene oath, I knew that I was going to be able to impact my patients' lives because I finally had those three letters after my name that I had dreamed of for decades. I graduated at the top of my class and I was the college’s honor student of the year.
How did I get here from my career start as a dental assistant/plaque control therapist in 1972 to a licensed dental hygienist in 1995 and a Mayo Clinic Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist in 2014?