High School Dental Assistant Wants to Give Back
Apr 08, 2016 10:49AM ● By Tori La RueBy Tori La Rue | [email protected]
West Jordan - It wasn’t until after taking career tests that Kenzie Prows, 17, decided she might want to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a dental assistant.
“My cute mom pulled out all of her books and tools, and that’s when I knew that it was something I wanted to pursue,” Kenzie said.
Kenzie said her love of working with people, working with her hands, memorizing and leading proved to be of use when she participated in the Jordan Applied Technology Center’s Certified Dental Assisting Program during her junior year of high school. She was the vice president of the Health Occupation Student Association over her class at the JATC, where she earned multiple awards for leadership.
The experience helped her to land an internship at SoJo Dental, where she now works as a certified dental assistant, she said. Her long-term goal is to make it back to the Jordan Applied Technology Center as a teacher.
“I want to pay it forward to the future generations and dedicate my life to doing what I love,” Kenzie said.
In the meantime, Kenzie’s plan is to graduate from high school this year and continue working at SoJo Dental while attending Utah Valley University, where she said she aspires to be a Wolverine Ambassador.
She said she also wants to continue serving in the community. In her spare time, Kenzie puts together dental hygiene kits for the South Valley Center, a local domestic abuse shelter in West Jordan.
Kenzie was selected to represent West Jordan High School in the Skilled and Technical Education Category for the statewide Sterling Scholar Awards. She said she felt ecstatic and honored to have this opportunity.
“Going to state was actually terrifying,” she said. “After my first interview they said they told all the applicants the next day whether or not they had moved on to the next round. However, at my last interview, they told me that I would not find out until March 10 when I was on stage being filmed at the LDS Conference Center in front of 800 plus people — if that’s not intimidating, I don’t know what is.”
Kenzie didn’t win state sterling scholar, but she said she knew she gave it all that she had, and she said it was an honor to make it as far as she did.
“All the skills I’ve gained through my CTE experience has completely enhanced my portfolio in the dental as well as the academic world,” she said.