“Career paths aren’t ladders, they’re more like jungle gyms.” – not available
There are very few that can say I chose a major, stuck to it and am now working in the field that I have wanted from the start. Wish I can say I was one of those people, but I am not.
In high school, I knew two things that I enjoyed doing mathematics and science. Math simply came natural to me and I knew that I needed to work in a field that included numbers. For this reason, I made the decision to major in business. This then led me to SUNY- Albany. I only lasted a semester and made my way back to my hometown Queens, New York. It was a very difficult decision, but in my heart I knew that I was not meant work in an office and live my days in business clothes.
I then enrolled at New York City College of Technology as undeclared, which I should have done in the beginning. Why this school? It had a variety of majors involving both the sciences and mathematics, from engineering to nursing. I knew this was the school I wanted to go.
Now, before going to school. I worked as a Group Teacher at an elementary school and worked as a swim instructor in the summers. As a swim instructor I would organize and instruct tots, children, adults and seniors in Learn to Swim. As a Group Teacher I would assist with activities in a variety of disciplines and help the children with their school work. In both jobs I was surrounded by people of all ages, from tots to seniors, and enjoyed it very much. I found that I loved working with people and helping them becoming the best they can be. With this in mind, I made my decision on my next career move- nursing.
I went to CityTech to become a nurse. I took the pre-reqs in the spring and applied for nursing. Hoping to start right away. To my surprise, I did I was able to start a semester after arriving at CityTech. My time as a nursing student, like my time at UAlbany did not last long. I lasted two months. Although, I admired helping the patients at the hospital it all felt overwhelming. Perhaps, I was not ready. I was not sure. But, I decided to not continue because the motivation to continue was not there. I was lost after this.
Even though I was lost, I knew that I wanted to work helping people and in the health field. I simply did not know what. I continued taking my other courses and decided to choose another major later on. This time I did not want to rush into it.
What made me decide on dental hygiene? My dentist. I have been going to the same dental office since the age of six. Every single time I went for my cleaning, my dentist would ask me about school and the last thing he knew was that I was going into nursing. He asked me how that was going and I told him the truth that I dropped out and now had no idea what to do. To my surprise, my dentist knew my school really well and recommended on looking at the dental hygiene department. This was actually the very first time I ever heard of that and I believe he knew that too because he then continued on explaining to what dental hygienists do and that it was a wonderful program. That same day I researched the major and knew that I had to do it and major in dental hygiene.
