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Students now work part-time at local dental office

The 10^th annual 91��Ƭ�� Back to School Kickoff may have happened last month, but the impact it’s making on the district can still be felt.

It’s not just by the students who received backpacks either.

The students from the P-TECH at Bowie High School who worked with Dental Health Arlington at the event made such an impression on the dental office that it wanted to offer jobs to two students in the program.

Two weeks ago, seniors Juan Guzman and Ivana Joby began working part-time jobs at the office of . It’s the perfect opportunity for students from Bowie as the P-TECH program focuses on health sciences.

Getting real-world experience like that is exactly what P-TECH programs are for.

“What it does for P-TECH is it raises the awareness of the benefits of the early college program,” said Bowie P-TECH principal Alicia DeVaull. “It lets us know our community is listening, and they are waiting for a chance to enhance these types of programs. These students will set the stage by word of mouth where there will be several other opportunities for our kids.”

Neither Guzman nor Joby worked at the kickoff, as the P-TECH students who volunteered there were underclassmen. But the dental office wanted seniors from the program and knew the kind of students it was producing so it offered two openings for P-TECH seniors.

Both Guzman and Joby are only taking classes at Tarrant County College this semester, so they were able to add the part-time work to their schedules.

“For me in my future, I need clinical hours,” said Joby, who already has more than 50 hours of college credit. “I feel like having some sort of clinical experience is really beneficial for me. I wanted to try it out and see if I can do it.”

The students each work shifts twice a week, five to six hours a day, sterilizing and stocking equipment and setting up things for patients.

“It is really fast paced,” Guzman said. “You need to keep up with things. It’s been pretty great.”

For Guzman, the job is exactly why he wanted to join the P-TECH program at Bowie.

“This was to gain experience in the medical field and hopefully have a shot at college,” said Guzman, who already has 45 college hours and plans to focus on nursing.

Joby opted for Bowie’s P-TECH program because she wants to have a career in the medical field. She wants to focus on public health and eventually become a physician’s assistant.

Is your eighth grader interested in a career in health sciences? The specialized programs window for the district opens Oct. 22. You can find out more about all the district’s specialized programs here.