{"id":52487,"date":"2025-10-20T11:09:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T16:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=52487"},"modified":"2025-10-20T11:09:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T16:09:19","slug":"from-dental-assistant-to-future-hygienist-how-acc-helped-pam-coy-level-up-her-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/10\/20\/from-dental-assistant-to-future-hygienist-how-acc-helped-pam-coy-level-up-her-career\/","title":{"rendered":"From Dental Assistant to Future Hygienist: How ACC Helped Pam Coy Level Up Her Career"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For Pam Coy, Austin Community College District\u2019s (ACC) Dental Hygiene program is more than a degree. It\u2019s the next step in a lifelong career in dentistry.<\/p>\n

Pam has worked in the dental field for 25 years, beginning as a dental assistant at just 16 years old. Now, at 42, she\u2019s finally chasing the dream she\u2019s carried since her first day on the job: becoming a licensed dental hygienist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do have experience working with patients. But not to this level. I absolutely love working with people and educating them on how to prevent oral health disease in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Pam began her journey at ACC in 2022 to complete the prerequisites for the Dental Hygiene program. She\u2019s now on track to graduate in spring 2027 with an Associate of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been an emotional rollercoaster, with moments of doubting whether I belong here \u2014 to YES, I do belong here,\u201d she says. \u201cBut it has also been a lot of fun and a great learning experience. ACC Dental Hygiene faculty have been outstanding and so helpful. They truly have your back. I\u2019ve never had so much support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her previous experience gives her a unique perspective in the classroom and lab. <\/p>\n

\u201cI love that we have access to an amazing clinic here at ACC. Everything is up to date and organized,\u201d Pam says. \u201cWe are currently working on our typodonts (model of the oral cavity), and next semester we\u2019ll begin seeing real patients.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pam is part of the first class to use ACC\u2019s newly expanded Dental Hygiene Clinic at the Eastview Campus \u2014 a space that has doubled in size and capacity, allowing more students like her to train on industry-standard equipment and prepare for real-world patient care.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to be a great clinician, you need to love working with people and be committed to promoting oral health and preventing dental disease, which plays a crucial role in overall health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pam\u2019s determination to advance her career is rooted in personal strength. After losing her husband in 2020 and facing job loss during the pandemic, she chose to rebuild \u2014 both for herself and her daughters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took this opportunity to fulfill my dream and encourage my daughters to go after what she wants. It is scary, but so worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pam credits her success to ACC\u2019s supportive faculty. \u201cEveryone has been amazing. \u201cThey truly care about your success and make sure you have what you need to grow into a confident clinician.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, she\u2019s combining her personal resilience with professional growth. \u201cI can’t wait to graduate and fully explore my dental hygiene dream, build great relationships with my patients, and help them achieve great oral healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information on ACC\u2019s Dental Hygiene Program, visit austincc.edu\/dentalhygiene<\/a>. <\/p>\n

About The Clinic<\/strong><\/p>\n

The ACC Dental Hygiene Clinic at Eastview Campus is now accepting new patients. Students gain real-world experience providing affordable, supervised care while helping the Austin community smile brighter.<\/p>\n

Learn more at austincc.edu\/dentalclinic<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Pam Coy, Austin Community College District\u2019s (ACC) Dental Hygiene program is more than a degree. It\u2019s the next step in a lifelong career in dentistry. Pam has worked in the dental field for 25 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3930,"featured_media":52488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,13,19],"tags":[4289,2117,743],"class_list":["post-52487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-announcements","category-current-students","category-students-and-alumni","tag-dental-clinic","tag-dental-hygiene","tag-health-sciences"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3930"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}