The spring 2025 graduates of Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s dental hygiene program are uniquely poised for career success and to make a difference in their communities, thanks to the education and training they received.
They recently completed their Community Dental Health Coordinator (CDHC) certificates for completing a specialized nine-month online curriculum developed by the American Dental Association to enable students to better understand issues community health providers may encounter with patients, help them assess overall patient needs more effectively and communicate better, among other skills. Each student completes about 120 hours of modules during their third and fourth years at SIU.
“They put a lot of time and effort into completing this certification,” said Jennifer S. Sherry, dental hygiene professor in the School of Health Sciences, who serves as faculty coordinator for the CDHC program. “SIU offers the only baccalaureate dental hygiene program in Illinois and one of just two in the state – and the only one outside of the Chicago area – that incorporates the CDHC certification.”
Prepared to help, succeed
Sherry said SIU’s bachelor’s degree program in dental hygiene, which is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, gives students numerous career options in a field that already has a very positive job outlook, and “nearly 100% of our students have jobs or are enrolled in a graduate program before they even graduate.”
Dental hygienist is ranked among the top 25 jobs in U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 “100 Best Jobs” with a median salary of about $81,400. The projected employment growth rate is about 11% by 2028, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
According to the American Dental Education Association, there are about 50 bachelor’s degree programs nationwide.
“A bachelor’s degree gives them numerous career options,” Sherry said. “They can work in private practice, public health or entrepreneurship/product development or go into the education field. They can also go on to obtain a master’s degree, either in dental hygiene or in numerous other health fields.”
The students also log numerous internship hours, providing dental care to children in local school districts and treating underserved patients living in local communities throughout Southern Illinois.
The dental hygiene students graduated May 10 and received their CDHC certificates shortly before that.
“Our dental hygiene students do exemplary work,” Sherry said.
Saluki hygienists
SIU’s 2025 dental hygiene graduates and CDHC recipients, listed by hometown, are:
Illinois
Bartlett: Brooke Tolva
Beardstown: Kimberly Barrera
Bloomingdale: Arisha Ahmed
Carbondale: Rosa Vicente
Carmi: Gwendolyn McKay
Cicero: Paulina Reynoso
Du Quoin: Bailey Nehring
Fairview Heights: Emily Fillback
Glendale Heights: Maribel Gonzalez
Harrisburg: Jenny Atkisson
Joliet: Paola Garcia
LaSalle: Madisyn Rose
Marion: Devon Davis
Murphysboro: Mary Reeder
Palatine: Becca Reiser
Park Forest: Abbey Sodergren
Pinckneyville: Bailey Heisner
Princeville: Lindsey Meisenheimer
Somonauk: Elizabeth Martin
Urbana: Rachel Gatewood
Vienna: Lakin Reed
Indiana
Danville: Jordan Riddle
Kentucky
Boaz: Addison Lamb
Paducah: Emily Walker
Missouri
Cape Girardeau: Delaney Dohogne
Chaffee: Ashtyn Rains
Clarkton: Kimberly Cunningham
High Ridge: Alayna Stawizynski
