Dreams sometimes have a way of sneaking up on people. Katrina was one of those people.

In 1993, Katrina was due to graduate from Pima Medical Institute (PMI) with a Dental Assistant’s certification. She had earned a 3.8 grade point average and knew about everything from covering the front office to working at the chair with the dentist. Katrina came out of PMI with all the necessary tools to be a great dental assistant. Her studies included radiography and taking dental impressions. In addition, the courses included a lot of interactive situations to help students communicate with the dentist and staff.

But, although she loved dentistry, Katrina was pretty unhappy. She didn’t have a job to go to, finances were looming, she was going through some personal turmoil and a car accident prevented her from attending graduation.

Gradually things started falling into place when her class instructor at PMI recommended her for a position as a dental assistant for a local Dentist. Katrina says that the doctor “was the first person in my life that I considered to be my mentor and (who) inspired me to want to become a dentist.”

As time went on, Katrina honed those skills and became exceptionally good at knowing how to set up the room with the correct instruments, anticipating the dentist’s needs when operating, and she was a jewel when it came to mixing the filling materials at exactly the right time so they’d be malleable for the dentist and yet harden quickly in the patient’s mouth.

“ I really believe that PMI made me the great dental assistant that I was. They completely motivated me into taking dental assisting as my career. And they always talked about how many different avenues you could go. There are several different specialties, so I knew that I could just keep moving — and I’ve done that.”

She certainly has. With the enthusiastic support of her employer, family and friends, Katrina is now in her last year of medical school and will graduate as a dentist in May. She has decided that she wants to work with children, so is applying for a pediatric residency, which will take another two years to complete.

Katrina credits PMI and her years as a dental assistant for helping her advance quickly in her studies at dental school. “At the beginning, I was definitely more advanced than some of the other students because I had been in dentistry for more than six years. I knew about procedures. I saw a lot; I did a lot. And dentists really complimented me on my fast learning skills — that was probably mostly due to my training at PMI.”

“Probably the most valuable aspect of my experience at PMI was that they taught me how to be professional. And I was respected by not only by my family, but by the workers and dentists that I’ve worked with. I’ve really outgrown who I used to be”, she said. “I don’t associate with that person anymore, just because I’ve grown so much. I’ve become so much more responsible. I can communicate with people. I’m not afraid. It (PMI) has given me a lot more confidence.”

And about that dream? Katrina said she always thought she would like to be a dentist, but it wasn’t until she actually was at PMI and working in the field that she knew it was the perfect place for her. PMI was a huge factor in opening the door to dentistry and finding that dream. “I just love absolutely everything about it; I have no complaints whatsoever!”