Featured Alumni
Christy Hitchcox
Community Care College Dental Assistant Alumni
When Christy Hitchcox was 19, she moved from California to Oklahoma with her one-year-old son. Christy had graduated from 8th grade and had been living on the streets since then. Once Christy and her son arrived in Oklahoma, she obtained her GED and began waitressing. Years later, when Christy’s son was 11, he lost his right eye when a 2×4 accidentally struck him.
“The struggle was very, very real,” Christy lamented.
In 2011, Christy was relaxing after a long evening working a graveyard shift when she saw a television commercial for Community Care College. She had seen the commercial several times, but her son had recently expressed he didn’t want to attend college – and she didn’t want him to renounce the possibilities of his future so easily. Christy scheduled a tour and brought her son, 14, and daughter, 10, along and immediately enrolled after meeting a handful of instructors and exploring the campus. Before the tour, Christy wasn’t sure what program she wanted to study, but ultimately chose the Dental Assistant program – the program that commenced Community Care College.
While attending college, Christy shared a one-bedroom motel room with her two children, her mother, and her mother’s husband. Despite living in close quarters with her family, Christy was excelling in the Dental Assistant program. Then, Christy hit an unexpected roadblock. A facial injury forced Christy to miss three weeks of her program.
Wendy Lemon, the Dental Assistant Department Head, worked with Christy through her injury giving her assignments she could work on at home so Christy could still complete the program.
“Wendy Lemon was a great part of my success,” Christy said.
“There were several times when I wanted to quit,” Christy said. “It’s not going to be easy, but anyone can do anything they want to do. Don’t let anyone or anything stop you.”
After recovering and completing the Dental Assistant program, Christy graduated and began working for a local dentist, where she worked for four years. Now, a few years later, Christy’s son has graduated from high school with mathematical honors – and he’s heading to college in the fall.
Recently, Christy began working with Dr. Richard Stephens, DDS and is excited to be putting roots down in the dental industry.
“Everyone needs a career – no matter who you are, what you’ve done, or what you’ve been through,” Christy concluded.
