Hygienist Returns for Bachelor's Degree at Age 57 Supportive family, dental practice help Beth Al-Heleal reach goal The term “non-traditional student” recognizes college students who, among other demographics, don’t follow the traditional timeline of earning their degrees shortly after high school. In May, Beth Al-Heleal was certainly non-traditional – and thrilled – when she walked across the stage at the School of Dentistry commencement to receive her bachelor’s degree in Dental Hygiene at age 57. Beth completed the two-year Degree Completion E-Learning Program offered by the school’s Dental Hygiene Division. She graduated summa cum laude and was inducted into the Nu chapter of Sigma Phi Alpha, the national dental hygiene honors society. The bachelor’s degree came 36 years after she earned her Associates Degree in Dental Hygiene at Lansing Community College in 1987. In the interim three-plus decades, she had established a 22 DENTAL HYGIENE M Dentistry | Fall 2023
solid career as a registered dental hygienist at practices in Ohio and Michigan. For the last 26 of those 36 years, she has worked with Dr. Kimberly Rice, a dentist who practices in Ypsilanti and is an adjunct faculty member at the dental school. Over the years, Beth had considered additional education, including perhaps a DDS degree, but raising a family took priority. In recent years, as the twists and turns of life played out, Beth found herself raising her six children as a single mom. The household dynamic had changed. Even though most of her children – five daughters and a son – have still lived at home in recent years, they were older now (currently ages 16 to 33) and less dependent on her. She felt the need to break out of her comfort zone and to prove to herself and to others that she could achieve the college degree that had always been secondary to other considerations.
