In Jeannette Z. life, one theme is consistent - her passion for helping people.
Her need to help in absolutely any situation propelled her across the world to serve in the Marines, and eventually inspired her to attend Concorde Career College, Garden Grove to kick-start a career in civilian public service.
A Comfortable Place for Veterans
Jeannette isn’t one to shy away from a challenge. She served her country as a logistics expert during two deployments in the Marine Corps. Less than a year after returning home to Southern California following her second deployment, she decided to study to become a dental assistant.
“I knew I didn’t want to be a nurse,” she says. “I wanted to try out teeth and see how I did with that!”
While researching schools, she found Concorde, Garden Grove. “It was convenient to home and work, and I heard that they help out the community a lot, so I found that really appealing.”
Jeannette was concerned that the transition to school might be challenging for a veteran like her, but the administrative staff at Concorde was familiar with her complex situation and assuaged her fears. For example, they helped her navigate using the GI Bill assistance she earned to pay for her education.
“The administrative staff are very friendly to veterans, and they’re really knowledgeable,” she notes. “There’s a lot of additional paperwork when you’re using your GI Bill, and they’re really good at explaining and doing a lot of the legwork for you. There are veterans on the administrative staff, and they know we all just really want to help people.”
Ample Opportunities to Help
Concorde’s community-focused philosophy fits perfectly with Jeannette’s desire to become more involved. She joined the Lamplighter Student Ambassador Program, which gave her the chance to assist both on and off campus. “I was able to do volunteer work, like collecting food for people who need it and taking it to locations to distribute,” she says.
She was particularly excited about the school’s commitment to providing free services. For example, Concorde organizes annual health fairs to assist people who live near campus and includes medical-related assistance such as free dental hygiene and basic dental care.
She’s proud of both the work she performed at those clinics and the standards to which she and her colleagues were held, both as students and practitioners.
“I wish more people knew how strict they are with healthcare regulations and policies,” she says, “as far as following safety protocols and OSHA, especially now, with COVID.”
In the end, it all comes down to Jeannette’s favorite theme - help.
“They really care about not just their staff but their students and, more importantly, their patients,” she says.
Perhaps that’s why, just a month after completing the Dental Assistant program, Jeannette chose to return to school to pursue what she considers the “greater independence” of a Dental Hygienist degree and subsequent certification. And for her, there was no other choice but Concorde.
