Pinning ceremony held for dental hygiene graduates

The COVID pandemic gave Sheridan College’s dental hygiene department a run for its money, according to Sara Beres, dental hygiene director.

That, she added, was literal.

Other hardships faced by the graduating dental hygiene class of 2021 included going to virtual classes in March instead of face-to-face.

But over 20 dental hygiene students received their pins in ceremonies Saturday morning in Sheridan College’s Kinnison Hall – and a number of them, according to the program, in addition to graduating from Sheridan College also were graduating from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor of Science degree in dental hygiene.

Beres said in addition to celebrating the Sheridan College graduates, Saturday was a time to celebrate a milestone in the state of Wyoming. She said legislation permitting dental hygiene license Number One passed in 1921, and a Casper woman received that first license in 1922.

Beres said the first dental hygiene class graduated from Sheridan College in 1971, and members of that class were among those attending the pinning ceremony this past weekend.