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Kelly Freeman

“I had been a dental assistant in an endodontic group for six years, but I wanted to become a hygienist to be able to educate patients. I want to be able to help people and inform them of diseases and how to improve their oral hygiene. What attracts me most about this profession is how important it is to educate patients, to inform them of everything that can happen and how oral health affects their whole body. 

“What's interesting to me in classes is the precision of radiology, and how you can change things in an X-ray that can affect the whole ballgame. The instruction is great: the books give you the info, and then when you're practicing on Dexter (the mannequin) you get hands-on experience of how things need to be done correctly. 

“Dental hygiene is my dream career. I want to help communities in Alaska, where I’m from. Most of the villages there don't have dentists or dental care, and I’d like to go back in the summers and do educational activities with kids and adults.”


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Kim Nguyen

Oanh Kim Nguyen, MLT(ASCP)

Medical Laboratory Technician Methodist Medical Center of Dallas
“My first experience at community college was taking ESL classes at Richland and Brookhaven, which were close to where I lived. Then when I started exploring what kind of program I wanted to take for a career change, I saw Medical Laboratory Technology and transferred to El Centro ... I always tell people who are thinking about community college to think about Medical Laboratory Technology, and I tell them about my personal experience with the program. It’s a stable job, in a quiet environment with a lot less stress than many other medically related fields, and the people are very friendly and professional. I really love my job.”
English as a Second Language (ESL and ESOL), Medical Laboratory Technology
Dolores Schueler

Dolores (Dee) Schueler, BSN, LVN, RN, CRNI

Director of Nurses USBioservices
“Our instructors had high expectations and saw our potential. They let us know that it wasn’t going to be easy, but it wasn’t going to be insurmountable either.”
Nursing
Sylvia Moreno

Sylvia Moreno, BSN, RN

Director of HIV Services Parkland Hospital of Dallas
“Community college gave me everything I needed to take and succeed in classes for an advanced degree.”
Nursing
Shawn Terry

Shawn Terry, B.A., RRT, RCP

Respiratory Care Practitioner, Parkland Health and Hospital System
“Respiratory therapists are not just technicians trained to deliver treatments and therapies with different types of equipment. We have to truly comprehend a wide range of topics and how they relate to a patient’s condition.”
Respiratory Care Program
Kelly Freeman
Kelly Freeman
Dental Hygiene Student

Dental Hygiene
School of Health Sciences
Updated November 25, 2025