AndyFutureRDH.com

If your reading this you either clicked on the link accidentally, or you are a bit curious on whom I am and how I got to where I am today. First, my name is Andy Codding and I live in Rome, Georgia, which is a small city about 45 minutes north of Atlanta (the way I drive anyway). I was born in Schenectady, New York and raised until the age of 12 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts until I migrated south here to Georgia. It was a bit of a culture shock at first but now you could not pay me to live in another state. Now I see why so many people move south when they retire, because when they see what it is like...you couldn't imagine living anywhere else. I guess I just got addicted to that good ole' southern hospitality. I have a twin brother, and when we moved here we promised we would not do 3 things that would in turn make us a southerner. They were:

1. Don't say, "Ya'll"
2. Don’t wear overalls
3. Don’t eat grits.

So far I am proud to say it has been 10 full years and I have not done any of those three things! To some its an accomplishment, to others its a failure...but I will always be a "damn Yankee." I love all sports, especially basketball, baseball, football and tennis (in that order). In my personal time I love playing basketball and am a big fan of my hometown Boston Celtics and Boston Red Sox teams. Since so many dentists are into playing golf, which may be something new I have to take up. I think in dental school they require you to take a golf class because I have met very few dentists who don't like to take their frustrations out on a tiny little white ball.

My brief 15 minutes of fame actually only turned out to be one second of fame. I had a short role in the movie Remember The Titans with Denzel Washington. It's definitely not something that made me a movie star, but it was great being able to meet them for a day and see what making a Disney movie was like!

SCHOOL

I graduated Floyd College in May of 2002. For me, it was the most difficult and challenging mountain I had to climb. I have lived alone for the last five years and have worked full time at the same company for the last six years. Of course, this included working while throughout college and the dental hygiene program and made it hard to prioritize and study as much as I would have liked to. In addition to working full time and living alone, I also was the class president of my class, was responsible for scheduling all my patients and had to devote time to the Website all the while marinating the minimal social life that existed. At times I felt like I was being pulled from so many different directions that I was going to break down the middle, but I managed to pull through barely and just kept myself focused... it was just a matter of time for me to finally leap over that last hurdle and graduate! Phew!

DENTAL

I often find it amusing when out of a group of dental hygienist's I will always be the first one to be asked, "why did you want to be a hygienist?" I sometimes wonder if people expect me to say "for the women!" or a reason that would be different than asked to a female. I have never heard a female say they entered the profession because "it being a job for women, etc." I entered the profession just as the same reasons many women enter the profession. I love the dental field and love the patient interaction. I love the fact that something simple I might do or say can help the patients’ oral and overall physical health. Just knowing that you helped contribute to a positive change in someone’s life in anyway is the ultimate reward when you go home for the day. I don't feel like I am "just doing a job," I feel like I am actually contributing to that patients life whether it be via motivation, encouragement, education, or just an person to talk to.

Most people tell me that I would have been great getting a job in the computer industry. Sure, I do enjoy using computers most times but there really is no people skills involved. So, I decided, why not combine both things and do what I like to do most and that is help people out. That is why I decided to create this Website to help the students better organize and prepare themselves for the national boards, and dental hygiene school in general. When I first started the dental hygiene program I realized it was going to take a lot to be a good dental hygienist. But I wanted to be more. I didn't just want to be the average RDH who goes to work, gets a paycheck, and then stops there. I wanted to make a name for myself, grow with the profession, and make a difference somewhere, somehow.

I served as the Georgia Dental Hygiene Associations' Student Liaison Chairperson. I am responsible for various functions and duties such as mentoring the 450 dental hygiene students in the 13 dental hygiene programs in Georgia. I create the Dream Catchers student newsletters which you can find on this website here as well. Its a pretty big task and one that I will not do forever, but helping students is something I am interested in.

Thank you for taking time to read this and for me to share a little bit of my history. I am often signed online on AOL I am andyc18@aol.com so feel free to say hi sometime or ask a question. I am good at listening to students complain and then I am better at yelling at them to shut up and get back to studying! :-)

"Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or
accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others."
-Danny Thomas

"Remember anything you want that's valuable requires you to break through short-term pain in order to gain long-term pleasure."
Anthony Robbins

I cried when I had no shoes, until I saw a man with no feet. - Unknown