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Campus Review
July 7, 2014
Page 4
Bridgette McDonald Earns GACE’s Highest Honor
By John Shiffert
CRDTS Clinical Exam Produces
Smiles by Dental Hygiene Students
Clayton State University Director of
Career Services Bridgette McDonald has
been awarded the Georgia Association of
Colleges and Employers’ (GACE) highest
honor, the Founders Award. McDonald
received the award at last month’s 44th
Annual GACE Conference in Young
Harris, Ga.
The GACE Founder’s Award recognizes
those individuals who have provided out-
standing service, support, and dedication
to the organization and career services
and recruitment professions. The award
was established in 1992 and is only given
when deemed appropriate by the GACE
Board of Directors. As a result, the award
has only been presented 12 times since
1992, so McDonald joins an elite group
that also includes Clayton State’s late
Director Emeritus of Job Placement and
Cooperative Education, Peggy A.
Gardner, who earned the Founder’s Award
in 1997. No other organization in the state
has had two recipients of the Founder’s
Award.
GACE provides a link between employers
and career services professionals, provid-
ing professional development, and pro-
moting professional and ethical standards
for each group. Clayton State Assistant
Vice President for Student Affairs Dr.
Angelyn Hayes notes that McDonald’s
contributions to GACE include her having
served as a college director, vice-presi-
dent in charge of planning the annual
GACE conference, GACE president
(2008/2009), and currently serving as
treasurer of the organization. She is also
involved in numerous GACE initiatives
including the College-to-Career Fair,
membership drives,
and
networking
events. Most signif-
icantly, adds Hayes,
McDonald is com-
mitted to GACE
and engages with
its members and its
mission with unpar-
alleled
commit-
ment and passion.
As notable an accomplishment as receiv-
ing the Founder’s Award represents, it
should also be mentioned that, during
McDonald’s 15 plus years as a member of
The Clayton State University Dental
Hygiene Class of 2014 was all smiles
before their recent graduation – all 22 sen-
ior students had their dreams made real by
passing the CRDTS (Central Regional
Dental Testing Services) clinical exam.
According to Dr. Gail Barnes, Clayton
State Department Chair, Dental Hygiene,
the Topeka, Kan.-based CRDTS exam
involved the students cleaning a patient’s
teeth for an allotted time. The examiners
who took part in the five, half-day sessions
in the Clayton State Dental Hygiene Clinic
were dentists and dental hygienists from
across the country. In addition to Clayton
State’s 22 dental hygiene seniors; 17 candi-
dates for the CRDTS exam were from other
Georgia dental hygiene programs.
“I thank each of you for the time and
effort you have continuously given to our
students. Your expertise and devotion to
their clinical education is phenomenal!”
said Barnes in an email to the Clayton
State Dental Hygiene faculty.
The “Perfect 22” of the Clayton State
Dental Hygiene Class of 2014 included…
Danielle Ashby - Cartersville, Ga.
Christine Baptiste - McDonough, Ga.
Alyssa Braswell - McDonough, Ga.
Monica Canning - Atlanta
Ashleigh Cole - Buford, Ga.
Soumayah Walton-Davis - Decatur, Ga.
Trang Dinh - Jonesboro, Ga.
Kayla Dlugolec - Fayetteville, Ga.
Alycia Findley - Stockbridge, Ga.
Lisa Gillis - Morrow, Ga.
Nhung Hoang - Lawrenceville, Ga.
Joo Jin - Duluth, Ga.
Jessica McClendon - Snellville, Ga.
Ashley McKinnon - Stockbridge, Ga.
Dhiana Meyers - Morrow, Ga.
Vy Nguyen - Stockbridge, Ga.
Kajal Patel - Savannah, Ga.
Linh Tran - Jonesboro, Ga.
Shayla Ventriglia - Brooks, Ga.
Yenory Villada - Duluth, Ga.
Felicia Williams - Duluth, Ga.
Abri Yisrael - Loganville, Ga.
McDonald
McDonald, cont’d., p. 6