Mount Wachusett Community College Celebrates Class of 2021 Dental Program Graduates with Pinning Ceremony

GARDNER, MA – May 18, 2021 – On Friday, May 14, 2021, MWCC welcomed fourteen students to the dental hygiene profession with a socially distant pinning ceremony outside the main entrance of the Gardner campus.

“This is not totally normal, but this is the most normal event that I have been to in about fifteen months. Thank you for this moment,” opened MWCC President James Vander Hooven. “I am so proud of the efforts these students have made over the past two years. It takes an awful lot to choose to pursue a degree in one of the caring fields, to know that you are going to be dedicating your professional careers to helping others. I am eternally grateful that you have chosen this path, and that you chose to do it with Mount Wachusett Community College.”

Cindy Cadoret, Director of Dental Education Programs, and the dental faculty members pinned the fourteen students, all of whom are receiving their Dental Hygiene Associate Degrees on Wednesday, May 19. The students pinned and the annual department awardees are:

Front Row, left to right: Ela Solimeno, Ashley Leone, Beatriz Padilla-Lazarin, Jessica Burgos, Brianna Coggins, Jennifer Burkier, Patricia Bunis, Samantha Bottis. Back Row, left to right: Justin Ward, Courtney Rogers, Ivonne Jimenez, Emily Matusiak, Katherine Piecewicz, Ashely Beauchemin.

Ashley Beauchemin, Ashby

Samantha Bottis, Worcester

Patricia Bunis, Whitinsville

Jessica Burgos, Fitchburg, Hu-Friedy Golden Scaler Award

Jennifer Burkmier, Lowell

Brianna Coggins, Northbridge

Ivonne Jimenez, Clinton

Ashley Leone, Auburn, Dental Hygiene Most Improved Award

Emily Matusiak, Lowell

Beatriz  Padilla-Lazarin, Leominster

Katherine Piecewicz, Ayer

Courtney Rogers, Uxbridge, Dental Hygiene Community Service Award

Elzbieta Solimeno, Bolton, Dental Hygiene Curriculum and Alumni Scholarship Award

Justin Ward, Charlemont