Announcement
Several young students enrolled in the IRC in Atlanta’s Dental Assistant program—a successful collaboration between our Career Development and Adult Education teams and partners at Gwinnett Dental Career Academy—were spotlighted by local TV news channel, 11Alive in March!
Photo: IRC Atlanta
Several young students enrolled in the IRC in Atlanta’s Dental Assistant program—a successful collaboration between our Career Development and Adult Education teams and partners at Gwinnett Dental Career Academy—were spotlighted by local TV news channel, 11Alive in March! Tuition for the 10-week Dental Assistant program is $3,800 per student and—thanks to a generous scholarship fund created by donors like you—the IRC in Atlanta is currently able to cover the full cost of tuition for our hard-working students.
Watch the video and hear from these incredible students
Although the program is open to all refugees and immigrants, the majority of students in this current cohort were evacuated from Afghanistan in the fall of 2021. Two sisters featured in the story, Moqadasa and Saghar, now 21 and 24, were working as interpreters for the U.S. Army when the Taliban took over and fled the country urgently with their family. Incredibly positive and driven to build new lives for themselves in Georgia, the sisters have already secured Dental Assistant positions and will begin those roles shortly after completing the 10-week program.
Students enrolled in the IRC’s Dental Assistant program receive supplemental support classes through our Adult Education programs throughout the duration of the course. The supplemental instruction is a combination of English as a Second Language (ESL) classes and the dental assistant curriculum from Gwinnett Dental. This program was designed specifically to meet emergent workforce needs—and our Adult Education and Career Development teams partnered to create a course that would provide training to fill those roles with highly qualified new American candidates.
Innovative programs and partnerships like the IRC in Atlanta’s Dental Assistant program are essential to shore up the dental workforce pipeline for long-term sustainability.
Photo: IRC Atlanta
According to the American Dental Association, approximately one-third of the dental assistant and dental hygienist workforce are planning to retire in five years or less. The numbers of new dental hygienists and dental assistants graduating from allied education programs may not be enough to compensate the losses of team members who permanently left the profession during the pandemic. Innovative programs and partnerships like the IRC in Atlanta’s Dental Assistant program are essential to shore up the dental workforce pipeline for long-term sustainability.
This program presents not only a solution to the growing labor shortage, but also a vital opportunity for resettled refugees to practice their English while attaining new skills to help them advance their careers.
—Sam Camirand, Career Pathways Specialist at the IRC in Atlanta
Staffing issues were cited as the most significant concern among dentists throughout 2022 and these shortages have caused an estimated 11% reduction in dental practice capacity. Sam Camirand, Career Pathways Specialist at the IRC in Atlanta, shared, “This program presents not only a solution to the growing labor shortage, but also a vital opportunity for resettled refugees to practice their English while attaining new skills to help them advance their careers.”
Another student featured in the 11Alive story, Iman, was almost finished with dental school to become a dentist when Afghanistan collapsed in 2021. He hopes that earning this Dental Assistant credential will be a first step for him in completing his dream of becoming a dentist, and Dr. Tina Herington, the Director of Gwinnett Dental Career Academy, believes that Iman has what it takes to fulfil his goals.
Iman was almost finished with dental school to become a dentist when Afghanistan collapsed in 2021—he hopes that earning this Dental Assistant credential will be a first step for him in completing his dream of becoming a dentist.
Photo: IRC Atlanta
We are immensely proud of these incredible young people and all their hard work and so grateful to reporter Ron Jones and the team at 11Alive for connecting our resilient students with a platform to share parts of their stories. We are also incredibly grateful to Dr. Herrington and our partners at Gwinnett Dental Career Academy for their continued support and mentorship towards our new American neighbors.
Watch the video and hear from these incredible students
Our work at the IRC in Atlanta would not be possible without the support of our generous donors, who enable us to help refugees and immigrants integrate and thrive in their new home. If you would like to donate to provide scholarships for former refugees striving to become dental assistants here in Georgia, please contact Senior Development Manager, Heloise Ahoure, at [email protected].
Open to refugees, humanitarian parolees, asylees and SIV recipients who have been in the U.S. for less than five years, the Dental Assistant program is 10 weeks long and classes are on Saturdays from 9am – 5pm. Applicants must hold a high school degree or GED and must be currently employed. Limited scholarships are available, so email Sam Camirand at [email protected] or call 470-510-6190 today to learn more.
To learn more about the work of the IRC in Atlanta and for information on how you can get involved with the IRC as a donor or volunteer, please contact Development Director, Heloise Ahoure, at [email protected] or 678-636-8941.
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