Published October 2025

During her senior year of high school, Aimee Cruz had already finished her high school credits. Ready for something new, she started looking for higher education institutes with short programs. “I was looking at all the programs Emily Griffith had and got really interested,” she says. “I made an appointment to go on a school tour. They explained every detail about each program.”

At first, Aimee thought cosmetology might be the right path, but one visit changed her mind. “When I visited the Dental room, it just felt right,” she says. “I decided to go on every platform and look at videos of what dental assistants do. I got really interested in it.”

Aimee is now enrolled in the Dental Assisting program at Emily Griffith and will complete it in April. After graduation, she hopes “to be able to find a job after school and keep going in my studies to become a dental hygienist.”

Support from the Emily Griffith Foundation has also helped along the way. “They helped me pay off my vaccines that I needed to have for my program,” she says. “Any type of donation will help students feel like they are important and are able to get any type of help.”

Aimee says the school’s instructors make a big difference. “Emily Griffith has teachers who care about you as a person and help motivate you to finish the course,” she says. “They make you feel safe in asking questions.”

And she’s proud of where she’s headed. “My dad really wanted me to be in the medical field, so dental assisting was perfect for me,” Aimee says. “The scrubs are so comfortable and make me feel proud of myself.”