Scholarship Award

Applicants: 0 Jobs Selected | Apply
Dental Offices: Place A Job Order

2023 Scholarship Winner

Lana Calipes is the recipient of the Dental Connections Dental Hygiene Scholarship. She is a 2nd year student at Lake Washington and receiving her license in July. We admire all of her hard work and determination to finish hygiene school. Congratulations Lana!


2022 Scholarship Award Winner

Our 2022 scholarship award winner is Geizel Dayawan.  She is beginning her 2nd year at Pima’s dental hygiene program in North Seattle.  Geizel is a special person that has overcome a myriad of obstacles to make it this far.  She graduated from Pima with a dental assisting certificate in 2007 and started pursuing dental hygiene pre-reqs in 2018.  She was admitted to the hygiene program in 2020 only to learn a week later she had to withdraw for personal reasons.  This was a major setback and for many it could have ended their pursuit altogether.  Geizel took more pre-reqs at several community colleges eventually earning honor society status.  She was re-admitted to Pima’s program against long odds and is graduating in Spring 2023. 

In Geizel’s own words, “Even though I have faced a lot of trials and tribulations and had more setbacks than I can count, and I may not be where I want to be in life, my perseverance and motivation are getting me to where I need to be. Time has never been on my side; however, I am learning to trust it.”

Congratulations Geizel.  You deserved this award, and we know you will be a credit to the hygiene profession for many years to come.

Geizel Dayawan at Pima’s Dental Hygiene Clinic

2021 Hygienist Scholarship Award Recipient

Our 2021 scholarship award winner is Sirrah Brown. She is a 1st year student at Pierce College with a tenacious spirit and determination to reach her academic goals. Sirrah is a former dental assistant that is on the cusp of completing hygiene school while raising 3 young children. Being a working parent while getting accepted into a competitive program like Pierce is very impressive. Mothers of young children making it through hygiene school is a repeating theme amongst many of our scholarship award winners. Dental Connections admires what it truly takes to succeed under those circumstances. We are so proud of Sirrah and wish her continued success in her pursuit to become a dental hygienist. In her own words…”You will not come across a more devoted and determined student. Nothing will stop me from finishing this program.” We believe in you Sirrah.

Sirrah Brown at Pierce College

2020 Hygienist Scholarship Award Recipient

We have awarded a scholarship to Lupita Ramirez-Kim. Lupita currently attends Pima and is graduating in spring 2021. She has been a dental assistant since she was 18 and attending hygiene school has been a lifelong goal. Lupita has managed to be an exemplary student respected by her peers and instructors all while raising 3 young children. Anyone who has completed hygiene school can attest to how rigorous and challenging it is even if you do not have children. We are so proud to give this award to her and look forward to seeing her thrive as a dental hygienist. Congratulations Lupita!


2019 Scholarship Award Winner

Karina Daily is the recipient of one of the Dental Connections’ 2019 scholarship awards. This is our 5th year awarding a scholarship. We had so many worthy students apply that we have decided to give a 2nd award later this year.

Karina is our first winner from Shoreline Community College. While completing hygiene school and passing boards is an impressive feat in and of itself, she did it while caring for two young children. We are very proud of Karina’s academic accomplishments. The dental hygiene community is gaining a tremendous asset this summer. Good luck Karina!

Ryan and Karina at Shoreline in April.

2018 Dental Connections Scholarship Award Winner

We proudly announce that Lana Nguyen from Seattle Central College is our 2018 scholarship recipient. This is our 4th year awarding a scholarship to a 1st year dental hygiene student. Lana is the first winner from Seattle Central College. Lana grew up in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States when she was 17. She lives in South Seattle and has a very strong connection to her community. She was fortunate to find a mentor who is a dentist. She started volunteering in his office and this led her to pursue dental hygiene as a career. Lana has a very bright future in dentistry and we wish her the best in her pursuit to become a registered dental hygienist in 2019. Congratulations Lana!

This photo was taken at Seattle Central’s clinic. Ryan showed up unannouced to surprise Lana in front of her classmates. A special thank you to Lauren Acheson for setting the surprise visit up.


2017 Dental Connections Scholarship Award Recipient

We proudly announce that Seth Dunlap from Pima Medical Institute is our 2017 scholarship recipient. We had a lot of great applicants, but Seth really stood out. Prior to hygiene school he achieved a BA and MFA from Washington State University. He has been an active fund raising participant for his school and maintains a 4.0 GPA. Some of his fellow RDH colleagues may know him from attending Greater Seattle Dental Hygienists’ Society component meetings or from volunteering at Seattle King County Clinic. Seth has an extremely bright future in dentistry and we look forward to him graduating in June 2018. Congratulations Seth!


2015 Dental Connections Scholarship Recipient

This year we created our first ever scholarship that was awarded to a 1st year dental hygiene student. We proudly announce that Lori Burke from PIMA is our 2015 scholarship recipient. Lori is a remarkable young lady that already achieved a bachelor’s degree prior to hygiene school. She had strong competition for this award, but is a deserving winner. Thank you to everyone who applied. It was wonderful to learn about your stories and we know all of you will have a positive impact on the dental hygiene profession. Gene at the WSDHA guided us through the process of creating a scholarship and then on how to evaluate applicants. A big thanks to Gene because we never could have done it without her.

Lori accepting her award with a surprise visit to her classroom at PIMA

Lori accepting her award with a surprise visit to her classroom at PIMA

Dental Connections is a dental employment agency offering temporary and permanent placement services for dentists, hygienists, dental assistants, and business staff. We are more than just a temp agency because all of the dental professionals we represent are screened with a personal interview. Half our business is dedicated to permanent placement. Our service area is all of Western Washington, with most jobs in the following cities: Everett, Lynnwood, Seattle, Bothell, Kirkland, Redmond, Bellevue, Mercer Island, Renton, Kent, Federal Way, Auburn, Puyallup, Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Bremerton, Olympia, and Centralia.