March’s student of the month for the dental hygiene program Kelly McGill is in her third year at Lake Land College (LLC). However, as a Freshman in the dental hygiene program, she was surprised at winning. Originally from Findlay, Illinois, and graduating from OKAW Valley high school, McGill came to LLC for just dentistry, but after her first semester, she changed to dental hygiene.

“I am not a big fan of chemistry, and dentistry requires a lot of it, so I decided to take this route. Plus, I didn’t want to go to school for eight years,” McGill explained with a laugh.

Due to her helpful nature, McGill has been named March’s student of the month and is excited that her hard work has been recognized, “I make a lot of quizlets for people to study… They are always open to study, so anyone can access them.”

She looks specifically for kind, helpful people when voting for the student of the month. She explained that “people who are easy to get along with, who help others when it comes to studying or with questions they might have” are more likely to get her vote.

McGill’s advice for other dental hygiene students hoping to achieve student of the month is simple: “Just be helpful and nice to everybody,” she said, “You could help if someone is struggling or needs advice on how to study!”

Looking to the future, McGill hopes to move after graduation. “Although I’m not exactly sure where I want to live, I think I might start off in Charleston. I want to actually get a house there and then eventually turn it into an Airbnb or potentially a rental house, and then move probably somewhere out of state,” she explained. 

After stating that she has always been interested in the dental field, McGill contemplated what her favorite thing about the LLC dental hygiene program is. “I love learning about all of it. I find it really fascinating and interesting,” McGill decided. “A lot more than anybody would ever imagine” goes into dental hygiene, and McGill loves to learn about all of it. 

“Everyone in the program should keep up the good work,” McGill concluded, “I feel like  they’ve been doing a really good job and we all get along great! Let’s continue to grow together as a family.”