Employee of the Month: Jen Villarina
September 30, 2009
Most people don’t usually associate the words “pediatric dentistry” with “typical teen job.”
But typical is the last word one would use to describe the occupation of senior Jen Villarina.
Ever wonder who fills out those “Your appointment is due” postcards? Although some teens might find that sitting by a pool or flipping burgers is all the responsibility they need, Villarina has been working since the beginning of June as a secretary assistant at Dr. Leland Grant, DDS, Pediatric Dentistry in nearby Union City. Unlike many other clinics, Dr. Grant’s accepts disabled and autistic children, which has provided her with a unique work experience.
The tasks of a secretary assistant are vast and varied, and require a close attention to detail. “Every morning I put in a backup tape in the machine, which records everything that goes on throughout the day,” Villarina said. “I type up the schedule, I process their appointments in our database, I check and balance the money at the end of the day, pull charts, and make sure everything is ready for the next day before I close.”
Dr. Grant’s dental clinic is not unfamiliar to Villarina, whose family brought both her and her brother there for their dentist appointments since they were toddlers.
Though the rigors of school might seem like enough of a burden for some students, Villarina can often be seen rushing out to her car Tuesdays through Fridays to arrive at the office and clock in three-hour-long shifts.
However, Villarina finds the work rewarding, as she intends to pursue a job in the medical field one day. She has also found that for a job as atypical as hers, there are unusual ups and downs.
“For one, I see how busy jobs in this field are,” she said. “I know Dr. Grant has planned a lot of vacations and stuff, but sometimes he has to drop them and his family just goes without him. Throughout working here I’ve realized that having a job like Dr. Grant’s means that a lot of people depend on you.”
Despite a few concerns with the requirements of her workplace, it seems that Villarina has found all of the perks of a prized job—a kind, welcoming atmosphere, and the ability to work close in close proximity to a profession she aspires to practice one day.
After the rush of Spirit Week is over, she is considering possibly interning with other medical clinics, but plans to keep her job at Dr. Grant’s office.
Villarina came to obtain the job in an odd series of circumstances last May. “At first they said they couldn’t take me because of the economy and they couldn’t afford another paycheck, so I started looking for another job,” Villarina said. With her hopes for scoring a job at Dr. Grant’s low, she instead decided to work at Andersen Bakery—but the same day she got the job there, she was called back and immediately offered a position at Dr. Grant’s office, where she has been working since.
“I had to sacrifice a lot of things over the summer, and there were days when I wanted to take a day off for no reason,” Villarina said. “But then I realized you can’t do that, that life’s not really easy. This job opened my eyes up to a working life instead of just doing nothing after school.”
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