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I always tell the current students or you know recent grads like hang in there. This will be worth it. Everything that you're going through the tassel will be worth the hassle. >> Yes. >> Hello Blue Jays and welcome to the nest stories about life after Manor College. I am your host Kelly Peiffer vice president of marketing communications and this is the best part of my day. My hope is that this podcast will encourage, inform, and inspire you, making you feel like at Manor College, you belong here always.

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Before we get to today's guest, it is time for another Blue Jay Spotlight segment. This time, we're talking to one of our newest graduates, Tamia Gladney. Tamia first came to Manor College for an associates in veterinary technology in 2021 and now she recently has completed an associates degree in dental hygiene as well. Listen to Tamia's story. >> I've always just liked not necessarily liked school but just having like more knowledge like knowledge is power. I feel like that is a saying that's known

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all around the world and it's true. um you can never stop learning and you know the more that you learn the more um opportunities you create for yourself. So why not have two you know careers that um you know god forbid another like co situation happens I can lean on one the other or both at the same time. So just wanted to make you know multiple routes for myself career-wise. Definitely lean on your classmates like that is the biggest one I could take away like the community here. Um especially like when you're in programs

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here that are smaller. It's a smaller school which is why I came back in the first place. Um I just remember doing that when I was in Vet tech too. Um just relying on one another. And just having that mental like awareness like I'm not the only one going through this right now. I'm not by myself. I have people beside me going through this too definitely helped me like mentally and emotionally like still persevere and push through cuz there was moments where I was like can I do this? Um but you

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know having you know my friends and you know faculty also helping me too along the way was nice. Don't be so hard on yourself and I'm even struggling with that now like preparing for boards. Um I've made it this far. I've persevered through many things not just in the program um but outside because life doesn't stop while you're in school. Like things happen. So, you know, you have your highs and your lows, and it it it is easier said than done, but just reminding yourself of like where you've

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come from. Like, you know, I wasn't in the dental hygiene program, but I got accepted. That's a goal right there. Um, so I just had to take the small successes and, you know, bunch them up into a big one until I got to the point to where I am now. So, that's the biggest thing. >> This episode of the nest is sponsored by the Manor College dental hygiene program. If you are looking to jumpstart a career in healthcare and you want a program with a proven track record at Manor, the results speak for

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themselves. Our students in dental hygiene don't just pass the national dental hygiene exam, they crush it with a stellar 98% pass rate. But it's what happens after graduation that truly sets Manor graduates apart. The program has a 100% employment rate for graduates in dental practices within 12 months of finishing the program. That means when you walk across that stage, you aren't just getting a degree, you're going to step directly into a career. If you're ready to join a program where success is

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the standard, visit manor.edu. That's manor.edu. You belong here. Joining us today is a guest who truly embodies the grit and dedication of the city of brotherly love. Born and raised in northeast Philly, she spent her high school years at the legendary Philadelphia Creative and Performing Arts High School. back in the days before the city's charter school had expanded. While she started in the arts, her professional calling took a clinical turn when she arrived at Manor. She enrolled in one of the most

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rigorous programs on campus, dental hygiene. Between the intense clinical hours and the demanding coursework, she'll tell you firsthand she had zero time for clubs and extracurriculars because it was all about the work. Under the mentorships of Manor legends like Dr. Dr. Ginny Saunders and Kathleen Daily. She earned her associates degree in 2010. Since then, she hasn't just practiced dental hygiene. She has become a vital leader in our city's infrastructure. Today, she serves as a

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public health dental hygiene practitioner and a health services administrator for the city of Philadelphia Department of Public Health. She is a 2010 Manor graduate and a true champion for community wellness. Please welcome to the show Leslie Riley. Hi, Leslie. Hey, Kelly. Thank you for that introduction. My goodness. Wow. It really takes me back to my time at Manor and I I can't believe how quickly everything has passed. >> Yes. Thanks so much for being with us today. I'm honored to talk to you. So,

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take us back, Leslie. How did you first hear about Manor College and why did you ultimately decide to attend? >> I first heard about Manor probably through family members. Um, as you mentioned, you know, lifelong Philadelphian here, specifically from Northeast Philly. Um, Manor was always, uh, mentioned, I think even before it was called Manor College. I think it may have had a different name even decades before that, but it was still well known in the area. Um and the dental hygiene program always,

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you know, was something that clinicians in private practice in the professional world always had mentioned as an option. Um, you know, somewhere close to home and it was probably in 2007. I had already obtained my bachelor's degree at that point in a completely different major. Um, and just looking, you know, at at the optics at that time, looking, you know, what what I could do to ensure a successful path for myself, for my growing family, um, and just to be have that financial independence um, that I

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was so seeking at that moment. And I applied to Manor. I had a seamless application process um, you know, toward the facilities. And little did I know what I was getting myself into at that time, but it was one heck of a wild ride and I am so glad I did it. >> That's awesome. That's great. I mean, how was it going from creative and performing arts high school to dental and kind of what sparked that that shift? >> That shift. Yeah. Um so yes so I obtained my bachelor's in fine arts from

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the University of the arts that has since closed in recent years um in dance education um extremely passionate about dance. I love it. It is my heart song. You can always find me, you know, even now in clinic with patients. I'm always singing and dancing and trying to keep the mood light. Um, but at the time I was a recent newlywed and really saw the demands of the environment changing in Philadelphia and wanted to have that self-s support to be able to provide for myself and you know children down the down the line and it

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was almost between nursing and and dental hygiene and I said oh you know it's this doesn't sound so bad and oh I already have you know college degree under me. This will be, you know, this can't be that bad. Um, and little did I know, I was in for some of the toughest academic coursework probably since early grade school. Um, so it was I I often compare myself jumping almost like in Legally Blonde, like Elle Woods going from fashion merchandising to, you know, Harvard Law. I I felt like I was

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emulating Elle Woods in my time, you know, leading up to and then during Manor. Um, just really, you know, kind of having that uh culture shock in terms of academic uh expectations from a fine arts degree to a heavy um science degree with such intense coursework and balancing your clinical component as well. And I think that that was something that Manor in hindsight um for me in you can't it's priceless. You could not put a price on that at this point. I really look back at all the tears, the sweat, the stress and it was

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just so worth it, you know, being on the other side and coming out on the other side, you know, and I always tell the the the current students or, you know, recent grads like hang in there. This will be worth it. everything that you're going through, the tassel will be worth the hassle. >> Yes. Yes. Well, I have to go back to the Legally Blonde um obviously moment there you mentioned. Love that reference so much. Big Elle Woods fan over here. >> But um so yeah, the dental hygiene

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program is very intense. Um a lot of times those students don't participate in campus activities or on sports teams. um they usually don't work outside of you know their studies. It's really really intense. It's two years. Um they do these clinical rotations. They have to bring in their own patients a lot of times their own family and friends and you know sit in the chair and and get a cleaning and they have to have people with certain amounts of different things, you know. Um, >> so how did like the intensity of the

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program prepare you for the pace of now public health that you work in? Like do you see any like correlations between the two of them? the pace of the coursework um that that Manor sets forth with with the students and I think almost any Kota accredited program out there for dental hygiene um it's unlike anything and I I often you know h I do carry some animosity towards nursing majors um because they don't have to go through the same rigorous clinical work like we did where we are held accountable if a patient doesn't

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present that day. Um, uh, cosmetology students, they don't get docked points or, you know, penalized in any way. So, it's definitely something I try to let current or prospective students know is that, you know, hey, start building your patient base now and start, you know, advertising. I mean, in 2008 to 2010, my time there, you know, social media was not a thing as it wasn't even on the same level as it is now. So, it's much easier to have visibility now to recruit

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patients as a student. Um, but often so many of us now in the dental hygiene profession, we always say to ourselves, if we survived hygiene school, you can survive anything in life. And I really feel that's true. Um, just the extra stress of finding those patients was such an added layer. Um, so I think having that balance in the past totally prepared me for just balancing the the tenants of public health uh the clinical application even in my masters program um the coursework in my masters in in public health it it

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I felt like I could I was able to breeze through it because I didn't have that clinical component um you know adding to the weight of the program. So, I I felt more than prepared having successfully completed the coursework that Manor requires to graduate. Um, I I really do feel that like you could take on the world if you got through hygiene school and with Dr. Saunders, like you can do anything in life. >> Well, that's a really good uh kudos for the program. It certainly is

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challenging, but >> absolutely. >> It's very preparatory. Like, it's going to make you ready to do >> um anything like you said. That's really good feedback for us to hear. >> Absolutely. >> C can you talk to us about exactly your role that you're working in today? Um I know some people might hear public health and think one thing and they also hear administrator and hear another thing. Can you kind of give us the breakdown? What is your role

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>> and how are you serving the city of Philadelphia? >> Sure. So my role currently I've had for the last uh nine years. Um, I am currently a public health dental hygienist or dental hygiene practitioner as the state of Pennsylvania recognizes us. They have recognized that we have had enough hands-on experience in the professional sector um post-graduate, you know, as a practicing registered dental hygienist um where we do not need the direct supervision of a dentist on site in the facility that we're working

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in. So such facilities could be nursing homes, long-term care facilities, um mobile dental clinics in rural areas, uh school um school dental hygiene programs, uh again is more commonly seen in rural areas of the state um and also in federally qualified health centers. So Philadelphia has eight health centers deemed for residents of the city. um you just provide your proof of residency, you know, a bill or a photo ID. Um these clinics provide multiple different services to to the to the residents in

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terms of medical, dental care, um medications, and with pharmacy, x-rays, mammograms. So, it's really nice to have everything in one building, one brick and mortar stop. Um, so placed throughout the city, there's eight different centers that have dental clinics. So I see patients throughout the week. Um, the location that I work in currently um is in like the Northern Liberty's Fishtown section. So most of the patients in that area is a high migrant population from Central America.

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Um, I'm often leading with Spanish as the first language versus English. Um, so it's given me again some perspective of how to structure my day. What do I need to do with just providing access to care for people who have never seen a dentist before in their life? Um, how do you educate people to make different changes within their diet, within their environment? Um, so I felt like Manor 100% prepared me for that. just having those um patient interactions, the motivational interviewing um and

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giving me the confidence to really just build my autonomy as a hygienist, as a clinician to to manage my own pace. Um how to support other staff members, other clinicians, um how to integrate within other disciplines, addressing also people with various special needs. Um, again, just realizing that people although they may have a certain level of education, their health literacy may be very little. They may not know certain things that you're supposed to do, like changing your toothbrush every

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two to three months or after you've had a cold or illness. So, simple things like that I felt more than capable to do. um as well as transitioning to the administrative component of what I do um in terms of overseeing grants um data analysis reports um the city receives federal funding for these health centers in order to serve the public. So making sure that we're meeting certain um indicators for national goals, federal standards as far as services and preventive care. So all things that on a

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smaller scale at Manor I was doing I'm now doing it on a bit larger scale with uh other dentists and medical directors. >> Wow. That's a lot. >> It is. It is. And it's really it's really cool to see um you know I and I feel like I kind of navigated that path on my own. It wasn't necessarily at the time something so common that Dr. Saunders or Dr. Scorpio even um may have had such familiarity with maybe I feel a lot of the manner grads go right into

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private sector which is great. Um there's so and now there's so many dental offices in our surrounding area. Um so it's definitely great to have had that experience but I felt like I was the only one. It still seems like I'm the only one that kind of went this path. Um and I love that it was unconventional because that's exactly how I felt at Manor. Like I was the I was the only one in my graduating class that had no experience prior to Manor um working in the dental field. I

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again like Elle Woods just kind of woke up one day and I said I think I'm going to go to hygiene school and do this because this sounds like a fun career. And so I I definitely struggled to overcome those adversities in the program as being the one without that prior experience to navigating a new experience of my own to be able to to come back and talk to alumni um or current students about an opportunity. >> That's awesome. Well, Leslie, thank you so much for sharing all of that you're

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doing. It's certainly a lot important. Um, I I love I love that so much and I think it's really just amazing how you're so capable of doing, you know, so many different things. So, what's like the biggest oral health challenge that you would say is currently facing people in Philadelphia? What are you seeing is like very prevalent? >> Still feel access to care. Um, a lot of people, um, even as I said, you know, maybe just in in the the scope of residents of Philadelphia, um, a lot of

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children have access to care through CHIP or Medicaid with certain adults. However, Medicaid at the adult level has a very limited uh, scope of service for oral health. Um, and as we know, you know, prevention is better than the cure most times. So being able to really target and and and treat the youth um educating young parents or parents of newborns just to get them on um a path of success to prevent such diseases like early childhood carries. um educating them about uh the use of, you know,

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sweet liquids in a baby bottle or certain, you know, fruit snacks, uh goldfish crackers, things like that that really have a high decay rate, um and can put individuals at risk for having a high decay rate. Also, a lot of people in Philadelphia, a lot of, you know, maybe migrants or new residents of the city, they're not aware that our tap water has fluoride in it, which is one of like the best public health uh, you know, creations in my terms as a public health major. Um, one of the best things

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that really has developed. It's such a low cost option um, as a preventive agent. So that's something that you know I do educate people on you know and what's how can we get these tools and products into your hands without breaking the bank what's realistic for you and your budget. So I feel looking at these issues that are are present, you know, in terms of starting so young with oral diseases um or teenagers with vaping and the and tobacco use um different things even HPV and oral cancer screenings um with

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vaccinations. So it there's so many facets of whole body health that really do have a central theme of the mouth. Yeah, for sure. I'm so glad that um we're doing so many things to make access to health care just better, more affordable, more available. And >> definitely it starts with your mouth. I mean, it's huge. Um >> so Leslie, looking back at your 2010 version of yourself, I guess what would you say to your younger self? um if you could and kind of knowing what

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you know now and knowing how she was feeling then, what would you would you share with yourself in like retrospect? >> Um looking back, oh my gosh, it's like getting emotional. Woo! >> I I I would I would tell her this is buckle up. This is only the beginning. Um I had mentioned earlier in the podcast uh when I began um my enrollment in 2008 I was a newlywed. Um shortly after in 2012 um life just completely changed for me. Um I am now divorced and had I not hadation that Manor provided me with I don't know

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where I would be. Um so I'm Again, looking back, I survived hygiene school. I got through some pretty, you know, stressful life, uh, unfortunate life events that I've turned into lemonade. Um, had it not been for those moments, I wouldn't be in public health. This is never where I saw myself. I, you know, thought I would be um, you know, in a pediatric practice and, you know, working only a few days a week and and, you know, with a a large family. And had it not been for these adversities, I don't think I would have

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been prepared to take on the role I have today. Um, one of my first jobs in public health was working in the Philadelphia prison system. >> And the clinical experience that that provided me, my goodness, like I thought I had a great uh purview and and and kind of, you know, offering at Manor College. But my goodness, there was so much to learn and I was I'm so grateful. I always tell everybody I miss working in the prisons. And it really was true. It really just tied in so many different aspects

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of the program and the coursework from medical sociology to psychology to nutrition to the clinical component that the the hygiene program brought forth. So I really am so grateful and the path that I I don't think I could take another path like this is my destiny like I really was meant for this. So I 2010 was only the beginning and it's such a feather in the cap as you might say like to my life thus far like I I don't think I would change anything. I wouldn't want to go anywhere else. I I

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saw it when we had to take our clinical board exam um the graduating class you know once we have to begin pursuing our professional license. And it was at that moment I said, "Wow, this is why the teachers are so specific and particular and raised us or you know brought forth this discipline. This is why this is why they have such high expectations and this is why little partial sorry but this is why I think Manor brings out the best in in the dental hygiene students that are out in the workforce. I think I'm all partial

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to the Manor students, but um >> that's okay. >> Even the EFAs that come out of the program, I do have some of them as colleagues currently. >> They are some of the top tier professionals in in oral health and just are so assertive with working and their their expectations of their their uh work performance. So I have to say Manor is doing something right. I I I still feel Manor is >> for sure. For sure. Well, it's it's amazing to hear how fulfilled you you

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feel and how you just feel like you are you are doing your life's work. That's a that's a great feeling and that's something that I would wish for all of our alumni that they are out there and they are feeling that same way. It's um it's really special to hear you just talk about it. >> So, we're going to kind of play a quick a quick this or that round dental dental hygiene version. >> So, um you just pick which one you you like more. So, a manual or electric

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toothbrush? >> Electric. >> Morning breath or coffee breath? Which one is worse to work on? >> Morning. >> String floss or those floss picks? >> I'm I'm going to still stick with string floss because I like that you can advance to a clean piece every time. Floss picks are great for in a pinch in a bind. It's better than nothing, but at the end of the day before you go to sleep, you know, really to get in there and the string floss for me. >> Paste flavor, mint or tropical?

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>> Got to go with mint. Class, a classic never dies. >> And then what is like your best dental everyday tip that you can give? Oh, I I guess as far I'm trying to keep it and I'm trying to keep it as friendly as possible. Huh. Not flossing your teeth or cleaning in between the spaces of the teeth is like not cleaning in some of the dark warm spaces of our body. And I think I think our audience might know without me saying it, but it's very similar. So, um, definitely want to make sure you're

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clearing everything out before having a great 6 to 8 or 10 hours sleep. So, for me, it's always going to be that nighttime oral hygiene routine is is the most important. >> Can you tell when you're working on a patient and you're telling them to make sure you floss and they and they tell you like or or you ask them like, "Do you floss every day?" and they go, "Yes." Can you tell when people are lying? I feel like that happens so much. It does. And I also

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acknowledge that you've got to, you know, phrase your question a certain way. Um, but I think it's also as a clinician our duty to meet the patient where they are. Um, I know you're going to do it right before you come in and pro you'll be motivated maybe the next couple days, but it really and again, Manor taught me this, Dr. Caldwell, our periodontist teacher. Um she said, you know, as far as building a habit, it's really going to take that 21 to 28 days to pick up a habit. Um so I said, you know, like what

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can we do? What's the most realistic approach with your day-to-day life, your schedule? When can we find a time? Where do you like to shop and buy your products? What's going to work for you? So I feel my time as a clinician really has helped me see rather than always being the the hygienist wagging your finger at at you know the patient and making them feel even more secluded and isolated and having that guilt of not doing what they're told. I want to encourage them to be realistic as I tell them, you

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know, hey, I love I love my two cups of coffee a day. I love it. I love my iced coffee in the afternoon as a treat. We have to be realistic. Um, not everyone is going to be able to isolate all vices or or you know, questionable items from their their diet, you know, whether it's your glass of white wine, a beer, a cigar, you know, and you've got to meet people where they are just to have a more realistic outcome. >> Yeah, for sure. Well, you could tell they're lying, right? You could tell

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because I can always tell. I feel like >> and and I you know I pointed out and I think that's what you know there's so much technology now and um you know just to really explain to them and making sure you're able to communicate with them. I'm very grateful that the facilities I'm in we do have interpreters or a third party phone service where we can communicate in their the patients preferred language. Um making sure that everything is like culturally appropriate. That's very

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important for me. I always want patients to feel comfortable in whatever language they are um using primarily. I want them to be able to receive their medical care or their oral health care um as comfortably as possible. >> That's awesome. Well, Leslie, before we let you go, we have to mention the movie Hustle. And for our listeners and watchers, Leslie attended a career fair at Manor College earlier this year in March. And um she got talking to our um a staff member of ours, his name is

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Anthony. He actually helps produce this podcast. And um she was telling Anthony how much she loved the movie Hustle. Hustle was filmed right here on Manor's campus. Um Adam Sandler starred in it. A bunch of NBA players starred in it. Uh Philadelphia legend Villanova coach Jay Wright was in it and lots of other big names. So Leslie, just tell us briefly um why did you love this movie and what was your reaction when you're watching it and you realize like oh my gosh that's Manor College. What was that like

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for you? >> I feel as an Philadelphian we're always partial to those underdog stories, the Rockies, the um yeah, like there's just something in us. there's this fire that we have and coming off of the you know the the 2018 Eagles win um and then seeing this movie and see not knowing that Manor was going to be featured in it. Uh, I immediately recognized the facility right away. And it was at such a pivotal point in the movie where Adam Sandler is talking to his, you know, young

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uh, recruit, you know, and and asking him, "Do you really want this?" Like, because you're not showing me, and I need you to I need you to want it more than I want it for you. And at that point in it was in the gym. It just h tore my heart apart because my days at Manor that's really where I had to dig deep and say every day Leslie do you want to do this because you have to keep fighting. You can't let these teachers see you cry. You have to want this for you. And that truly was the fire that got me through

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the program. that that internal fire and lighting that that that self-ignition to to to just finish this program on a successful note and I still carry that to this day. So for him Adam Sandler to say it to the protagonist at that point every time I watched that that clip it is just that's my that's my kryptonite. I I'll start crying immediately. But it was just such a full circle moment and I was so grateful that that scene was filmed at Manor. Um, we're so much so many of of the fellow hygiene

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students, I think, probably have gone through the same thing. But for me, I'm a bit of a baby in that sense when it comes to that underdog story and just wanting it for yourself to prove to everybody that, you know, you can do anything if you put your mind to it. >> Yeah. I I I really think that a lot of our students resonate with that underdog mentality. It's a very Philadelphia thing, but particularly, you know, 85% of our students are working, 30% of our students are full-time caregivers, 65%

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are first gen. So, like all those things combined make college just more meaningful because you have a lot of other things up against you or in your life. You're surviving, you know what I mean? So, I think it just really all that combined makes moments like that really special. And I'm so glad you were able to enjoy that. And we have a great photo, I know, of you um in the same spot that um Adam Sandler and I think Bo Cruz was the character's name for the NBA player from Spain. Um but

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Leslie, thank you so much for joining us today. It has been truly such a joy to talk to you and hear your story and thank you for being an advocate for public health and thank you for being a real embodiment of our mission. You know, our mission here at the college is to encourage students to um serve society well and effectively and compassionately. And I can't think I mean, you're doing that. You're doing that tenfold. And um thank you so much for doing that. We really are so blessed

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to have you and and we appreciate how much you endorse the Manor College. That's really means a lot to us. So, we wish you nothing but the best. >> Thank you. Thank you all for giving me the opportunity. I feel like I'm just a big dental nerd sometimes and that's how Anthony and I got talking and you know this is how I'm here. But yes, Manor changed the course of my life completely and I'm so grateful I had the chance to have my education be with Manor. >> Thank you for tuning in today. If you

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like what you heard, listen and subscribe on Spotify or YouTube. Stay up to date with all new episodes by following Manor College on Instagram at Manor College. And that's a wrap on another episode of The Nest. Stories about life after Manor college. Remember Blue Jays, you belong here always.