{"id":22015,"date":"2025-05-16T16:27:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T20:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/?p=22015"},"modified":"2025-05-19T16:30:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T20:30:13","slug":"class-of-25-dental-hygiene-grad-overcomes-health-scare-now-hopes-to-help-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/2025\/05\/16\/class-of-25-dental-hygiene-grad-overcomes-health-scare-now-hopes-to-help-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Class of ’25: Dental Hygiene grad overcomes health scare, now hopes to help others"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each year, University of Detroit Mercy\u2019s Marketing & Communications department profiles members of the graduating classes. Students chosen were nominated by staff and faculty for their contributions to the life of the University. Click here<\/a> for more information about 2025 commencement exercises.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"JeanetteJeanette Andrade \u201925 wants to help people.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s what she envisions doing with her Dental Hygiene degree from Detroit Mercy\u2019s School of Dentistry.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI hope to be improving people\u2019s lives every day, just because oral health is such a big factor in how people live,\u201d Andrade said. \u201cI hope to be improving their smiles and oral health.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But before helping others and finishing her degree, Andrade<\/span> needed to pause her Dental Hygiene studies so <\/span>she could take care of herself.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Andrade was diagnosed with <\/span>Stage 2 Hodgkin\u2019s Lymphoma in the summer of 2023, <\/span>following the completion of her first year of <\/span>her program<\/span>.<\/span>At the suggestion of her oncologist, she halted her studies to focus on <\/span>fighting the cancer<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Andrade\u2019s treatment included 12 rounds of chemotherapy.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was terrified because I thought that I would forget everything,\u201d she said. \u201cI got so used to doing it for a year and then not being able to do anything, I was definitely missing it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut in reality, I was working towards a health goal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Many <\/span>people <\/span>were there for Andrade during the health scare, especially her parents, with her dad driving her to chemo appointments and her mom taking care of her at home.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Four\u201cThey were there with me throughout everything, I am so appreciative <\/span>of <\/span>their help,\u201d Andrade reflected.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

She also heard often from the Detroit Mercy Dental family.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI received so many messages saying they wished me the best, hoping for my speedy recovery,\u201d she said. \u201cSome of the faculty emailed me saying they couldn\u2019t wait to see me back again.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMany said they were praying for me, and I appreciated that so much. Their prayers worked.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In May 2024, Andrade was told her cancer was in remission.<\/span><\/p>\n

She returned for her final year of Dental Hygiene school, joining the Class of 2025. Andrade quickly picked up her academics where she left off.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone was really welcoming, they came up to me the first day and asked me if I needed anything,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe faculty were so, so helpful. They kept saying that it\u2019s really like riding a bike for you. It\u2019s muscle memory, and I was like, \u2018I know, I\u2019m surprised, too.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Her graduation <\/span>from the Dental Hygiene program<\/span> marks <\/span>the culmination of studies across two campuses at<\/span> Detroit Mercy. <\/span>She enrolled at the University as an undergraduate <\/span>after<\/span><\/span> a field trip to the University during her senior year of high school, which included a trip to the <\/span>School of Dentistry<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI remember when I was on my tour in high school, I really liked the faculty when I met them,\u201d Andrade said. \u201cThey were really kind and spoke highly of the school and the Hygiene program. They showed us around, it seemed very easy to find my way to everything, I loved the library.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt fit like a glove for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

During her undergraduate studies at UDM, Andrade worked as a receptionist in a dental office, which served as a good introduction to the profession, and helped solidify her career decision.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI remember getting to see a lot of the procedures that were being done, and I really enjoyed it,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"AWhen it was time for Andrade to see her own patients during her second year of Dental Hygiene school, it was a transition, but through practice and her education, she fell in love with it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a tough transition at the beginning, you\u2019re scared to use these small instruments in someone\u2019s mouth, but eventually you get really comfortable, and you build a great patient base,\u201d she said. \u201cIt started to feel like second nature.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s part of what makes the Dental Hygiene program outstanding, Andrade said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel so incredibly prepared,\u201d she said. \u201cThe program is rigorous, and they teach you so much. And they expect you to know so much because they want you to be good clinicians and good hygienists in the field.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned more information in the past two years than I\u2019ve learned in my whole life, and it\u2019s valuable information that will help me in the long run.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She had the backing of the Detroit Mercy Dental family throughout her journey<\/span>. One of the biggest supporters was Sally Ammar, the clinical director of the Dental Hygiene program.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s definitely been one of the ones that has helped me through everything,\u201d Andrade said. \u201cShe was so excited to see me finally finish this era of my life. She was such a great help.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, Andrade looks towards a future, one where she can help others.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI thank God every day that I\u2019m able to see a patient and that I\u2019m able to change somebody\u2019s life,\u201d Andrade said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0By\u00a0Adam Bouton<\/a>. Follow Detroit Mercy on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>. Have a story idea? Let us know by\u00a0submitting your idea<\/a>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jeanette Andrade \u201925 wants to help people. It\u2019s what she envisions doing with her Dental Hygiene degree from Detroit Mercy\u2019s School of Dentistry. But before helping others and finishing her degree, Andrade needed to pause her studies so she could take care of herself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":224,"featured_media":22016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[6],"tags":[6853,6393,1009,5415,148,4990,150,6784,741],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2025\/05\/07063722-963c-4bcc-a8f3-171d7c8055b3.jpeg?fit=552%2C736&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbwnTV-5J5","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22015"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/224"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22015"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22019,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22015\/revisions\/22019"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}