Business Spotlight

BY ROB MORRIS ADDRESS: 12100 South Western Avenue Oklahoma City, 73170 PHONE: 405-321-1926

Craig & Streight Orthodontics

WEBSITE: craigandstreight.com HOURS: Monday – Wednesday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Thursday 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. Friday-Sunday Closed

When he was 12 years old, Dr. Ryan Streight was a patient of Dr. Mack Rose, a Norman orthodontist. Even at that young age, Streight knew he wanted to pursue a career in the medical field and was full of questions for his orthodontist.

"He was incredibly kind, and I was incredibly talkative," said Streight. "I asked him all of these questions about my teeth: "Why do they move? How do you know when and where to move them?' And I have this vivid memory of him stopping and saying, 'You know, you should probably be an orthodontist when you grow up.' At that moment, I felt like it was the answer."

Over the following years, Streight set aside his dreams of being a professional athlete or movie director. Instead, he followed a path that led him to Washington University, dental school at the OU College of Dentistry, and then to The University of Tennessee at Memphis, where he graduated with a Masters of Dental Science and a Specialty Certificate in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics.

"I realized that I wasn't as athletic as, say, Baker Mayfield, or as creative as Steven Spielberg," said Streight. "So, I followed Dr. Rose's advice."

Streight says that what truly appeals to him about orthodontics is how many buckets it fills for him.

"I love the science aspect of it, as well as the mechanical aspect," said Streight. "There's also an artistic side that comes with creating beautiful smiles. Running my own business is also important. But one of the biggest things is connecting and talking to people all day long. I'm very much a people person, and I get a lot of joy from helping others."

This is where the story takes us back to Dr. Rose. Dr. Robi Craig, who grew up in Moore, joined the practice in 2001 after finishing her residency. Dr. Craig took over Rose's practice when he retired a short time later, and Dr. Streight joined the practice in 2011. The pair built a second location in Mustang in 2013, changing the practice's name to "Craig and Streight," and then opened a South OKC location in 2016. Joining Dr. Streight and Dr. Craig in the practice is Dr. Heather Kierl, another Oklahoma native. They've just moved into a brand-new, state-of-theart facility on South Western, just north of Westmoore High School.

"We are so excited about our new building," said Streight. "But honestly, we're even more excited about working with people to get them the best orthodontic care possible. We do free consultations, and we have flexible financing plans that will fit any budget. We don't charge for extra appointments or broken brackets. Plus, we're one of the larger Invisalign offices in the area."

The entire staff at Craig and Streight Orthodontics is committed to providing the highest standard of care to every patient.

"Our primary goal is to ensure everyone knows they're respected and cared for," said Streight. "We do that in a highly-professional manner, but in an atmosphere that is a little more laid back and relaxed."

Terri Helvey

Chief Instruction Officer

Terri Helvey’s teaching career began in 1990 at Mid-America Technology Center in Wayne, Oklahoma. After she got her Master’s degree in education she spent six years as the principal at Lexington High School before realizing her heard was truly with Career Technology Education. She returned to that field in 2013 when she was hired by MNTC where she currently serves as the Chief Officer of Instruction.

Preparing for Success, Changing Lives, Building Better Tomorrows.

(405) 801-5000 • mntc.edu MNTC Offers Solution to Career Crunch

Why is the work you do with job outlook and a prepared workforce important to MNTC?

We know there are lots of “help wanted” signs everywhere you go and so we feel like it's our duty to turn out qualified workers to help not just our communities but the state as a whole. Over on the website, OKWorks.gov, they have a list of what they call “critical occupations” in Oklahoma. And of the top 20 occupations, over half of them are targeted by courses we offer here at Moore Norman Technology Center. That means we’re able to train people specifically for those important jobs.

What programs do you offer in this area?

Well, number one on the list is a brandnew program that we've had recently started here, which is training CDL drivers. We know supply chain issues are huge and one way to help meet that challenge is through training new CDL drivers. In the past, you could kind of go to work for an employer or do a little walk around, get a little on the job training, and then if you could pass your test. That’s no longer the case. There was a new law that was passed that just went into effect in February that requires all CDL drivers to go through a certified training program. So, we have started a CDL training course here. We do that in conjunction with Central Tech, and we have a 300-foot by 300-foot pad that we can drive on for hands-on training.

Second on the list is nurses. We all know how hard the pandemic has been on nurses and health care workers in general. We've been training licensed practical nurses for over 50 years. we continue to try to meet that need by growing the number of nurses that we turn out. So next year will be the first year of a new program where a student can start their practical nursing curriculum as a senior in high school. They'll go one more semester after their senior year and they can sit for their in-class exam and be certified just one semester after their high school and become a licensed practical nurse.

How can MNTC's job outlooks and prepared workforce impact MNTC students?

We typically run around 60% high school students to 40% adults. We do have some adult-only programs like certified police officer, but high school students can come here free, and you can also come here free up until your 21st birthday, so you can get trained in a career and be debt free with no student loan debt.

How can folks contact you and/or keep up with what's going on in economic development at MNTC?

You can visit us at our website, mntc.edu or give me a call at MNTC is 405-801-5000.