Monday marked a big day for students across Tucson — not just for University of Arizona Wildcats, but also Pima Community College Aztecs.
Right now, PCC’s west campus is going through millions of dollars worth of construction. The goal, being built behind the fences, is to open a state-of-the-art lab, earning center and clinic before the start of 2025 and Spring classes.
For now, dental hygiene program students Lauren Puskavich and Mikaella Lubrano are getting practice in PCC’s working clinic, for life in careers after graduation. “There’s technique to everything you do, and you’ll hear about it if you don’t do it right,” Puskavich said.
In meeting these students, we asked each of them why they got into the program at PCC.
Lubrano wanted to find a passion after serving in the U.S. Navy. “That’s going to make me feel fulfilled in a different way, serving here,” she said.
Puskavich said that, in her own way, she’s modeling her mom’s career as a nutritionist. “Dental hygiene gets to incorporate nutrition, and I get to incorporate clinical skills,” she said. “So it’s like the perfect fit.”