Paige Richer

Student

Currently, Paige Richer is majoring in liberal arts at Bay College. While she does hope to earn an associate degree in this field, she also plans to complete Bay’s new dental assistant workforce training program early next year.

In 2021, Paige graduated from Bark River-Harris Senior High School. Thanks to her involvement with Bay’s dual enrollment program, she had already started taking college classes one year before graduating.

“You could take a placement test and take some classes at Bay to start working towards a degree earlier,” she said.

Paige became a full-time Bay student during the fall 2021 semester.

“I wanted to stay local and not have to move away, and it was a good fit with my major at the time,” she said of her reasons for continuing her college education at Bay.

Initially, Paige opted to pursue a pre-dentistry major at Bay.

“When I was looking at different career options in high school, I was more interested in dentistry than working as a nurse in the medical field,” she said.

Despite this, Paige eventually decided to shift gears and enter the college’s nursing program—but she made one last adjustment to her major when Bay introduced a dental assistant program. At that point, she switched her field of study to liberal arts, which will allow her to continue working towards an associate degree while going through the new program in January 2024.

“It was kind of perfect timing. I was thinking about signing up for a dental assistant program in Appleton next semester instead,” she said.

Paige thanked the people working at Bay for helping her throughout this process.

“The advisors are helpful when you’re trying to decide what major you should choose and what classes you should take,” she said.

Bay’s dental assistant program lasts nine weeks; during this time, Paige also plans to take liberal arts classes online. After completing the program, she will try to find work in the dentistry field as soon as possible.

Depending on her experience with the dental assistant program and other factors, she may or may not complete her liberal arts degree. However, she is currently leaning towards the former option.

“I’m probably going to take another two semesters after completing the program so I can finish out my degree,” Paige said.

Regardless of what happens next, Paige said she has had an excellent time as a Bay student.

“I think it’s a nice experience, especially if you’re coming to Bay right out of high school. You can meet new people and reconnect with people you’ve known for a while,” she said.