The Austin District Dental Hygienists’ Society
2010 Academic Dental Hygiene Scholarships

The Austin District Dental Hygienists’ Society (ADDHS) presented two academic scholarships this year to Austin Community College second year students, Sonya Frazer and Ruby Wright. A Scholarship presentation was held at the ADDHS meeting on January 13, 2010 in Austin, Texas.

Our first recipient, Sonya Frazer is currently serving as the President of the Student Chapter of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) at Austin Community College (ACC), where she maintains a 3.6 GPA. Her honors include the Roatary Club Scholarship and the Lorene Sobotik Scholarship.

The volunteer activities she has participated in include applying fluoride varnish to children at the 4109 Forbes Headstart, TDHA’s “Sealants Across Texas”, and Hope Fests. She is currently actively participating in the community efforts for dental health promotion in all Headstart Fluoride Varnish Programs.

Sonya has organized and participated in fundraising efforts in order to afford her classmates the opportunity to attend the Student Convention of the TDHA. She feels it is important to belong to a professional organization, “because I am able to have access to knowledge of other professions that can offer a diverse aspect to our profession.” She feels there is a power in numbers and by being part of ADHA, we can help our career get stronger through the legislative process. When describing how she became interested in dental hygiene, Sonya mentioned it is “when I realized, as an adult, the importance of a healthy smile.” She wants “to reach out to people and show them that dental visits can be encouraging and pleasant”. And as a dental hygienist, she “will have the opportunity to give people more reason to smile.”

Ruby Wright, our second recipient, is also an active member of the Student Chapter of the ADHA, where she maintains a 4.0 GPA. Her honors include the ACC President’s Honor Roll 2006-present, recipient of the 1994 Computer Sciences Corporation Scholarship, Old Dominion University Dean’s List, and Academic Honors Program at the Old Dominion University, 1991-1996.

Ruby’s volunteer activities have included Head and neck Cancer Screenings at the ACC 35th Anniversary, as well as, head and neck screening and oral hygiene education at Hope Fest in October 2009. She has applied fluoride varnish on children in the Headstart programs at the Rosewood Zaragosa Center, Hope Lutheran Center, Ebenezer Center and the Forbes Center. And, Ruby participated in TDHA’s 2009 “Sealants Across Texas”.

Her first memory of ever wanting to be in the dental field was around the age of three when she first remembers visiting the dentist. “What a cool chair,” she thought, “with it’s rocket ship- like motion and the nifty little sink next to the armrest.” Her family all became aware of her aspirations of being a dentist someday; however, due to the publicity scares of the ‘80’s, she changed her mind and direction. Her career choices took a few different turns. Years later and throughout the process of soul searching and vocation searching, she learned more about the dental industry again and herself. Throughout this process, she realized her “interests extend beyond the confines of an operatory.” She feels dental hygiene is a continuous educational opportunity for her and her patients. And, “having a cool chair helps too!”

We look forward to Sonya and Ruby becoming our colleagues, as well as, active members of our association. We wish them the best as they prepare for their National Board Examinations, graduation this coming spring, and the Western Regional Examination Board Exam.

ACC dental hygiene students win 3rd place in the fashion show for the 2010 SADHA Annual Session!