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Darlene Saccuzzo Retires After 17 Years at SFSC

Darlene Saccuzzo and students
Saccuzzo with second-year Dental Hygiene students

Darlene Saccuzzo, Dental Education professor, retires from SFSC today, June 22, after serving the College for 17 years. She was hired as a part-time instructor in spring 2005 and came on full time in August 2006. Before joining us in bidding her, “Au revoir,” learn more about her life, career, and plans for retirement.

Where are you originally from?
I was born and raised in Baltimore, Md.

How did you get to Highlands County?
Becky Sroda was my instructor at the Dental Hygiene program that I graduated from, Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (ABTech Community College) in Asheville, N.C. I have a cabin in Maggie Valley, N.C. and was living there and studying Dental Hygiene.

When I graduated from the Dental Hygiene program, Becky had put in her resignation from the college to become the new director of the Dental Hygiene program at SFSC. When I found out, she said, “Darlene, why don’t you come visit me?” My daughter lived in Orlando, so I visited Becky in Highlands County. Becky said, “I’m not letting you leave here without having you fill out a job application.” So, I did and was brought on two days a week to start teaching that spring term. I went to four days a week in August 2005. I wasn’t sure that I would be any good at it or like it. I soon discovered that I definitely found my niche.

I had my Dental Hygiene license in North Carolina. I took my dental hygiene licensing exam for Florida the same year that the first SFSC Dental Hygiene graduating class took theirs. We went to Gainesville for the exam.

Why did you go into Dental Hygiene?
I dental assisted for many years before I had the funds and the time to go back to school. Dentistry for me first started when I was 20 and living in Maryland. I saw an ad in the newspaper for my family dentist’s office. The ad said, “Dental Assistant Needed. Will Train.” I wanted to give that a try, mainly, because I had experienced a lot of pain at other dental offices. I was terrified to visit the dentist. I thought, “There has to be a better way to treat kids and adults at a dental office without putting the fear of God into them.”

Why did you decide to teach?
After graduating and getting my license in North Carolina, the best job I could find was one day a week and I’d have to travel over the mountains and snow to get there. When Becky Sroda offered me two days a week at SFSC, I accepted. I came to Florida to live with my daughter in Orlando and commuted for the first term in 2005.

When they hired me for four days a week in fall 2005, one of the instructors who had a duplex, suggested I move in with her. I would drive down from Orlando on Monday and drive back to Orlando for the weekend until I came on full time and could afford to pay rent.

What have you enjoyed most about teaching?
The students. I love my students. I love my job. I don’t know how many times I told Kevin Brown [retired dean of applied sciences and technologies] how much I loved my job. It’s such a joy to teach students. I teach instrumentation. I teach when they first come in and start putting instruments in their hands. Just to see the light bulb go on or to see them succeed in removing deposits on teeth that are difficult is fulfilling. And they’re so proud of themselves. And we’re so proud of them.

We have a great team here. We have a great program. I’ve been able to do so much thinking outside the box because of all the support I have.

In what way did you “think outside the box”?
Years ago, I came up with an idea for instruction that has since been implemented. I wanted to use technology to teach our students instrumentation. If I was working on a patient and trying to show 12 students how to use an instrument safely and the teeny tiny end of the instrument, they weren’t able to see it all. So, they would crowd around me and try to look and take turns. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could have a camera on me and the students could see everything I’m doing close up and personal, exactly when I’m doing it. They can see how that instrument has to adapt safely to the tooth. And that’s what happened.

[Money for equipment to implement Saccuzzo’s plan came through her Endowed Chair in Dental Hygiene in 2015, and Dean Brown provided funding from other sources. In May 2018, Saccuzzo was awarded another Endowed Chair in Dental Hygiene to further enhance her instruction delivery.]

We had to modify the clinic. We had to put in all new wiring under the floors. I have a little place in the middle of the clinic where I plug in my camera, and I have a screen that I can see myself on. Whatever I see, each of the students can see at their operatories and use the instruments and techniques I’m teaching them about. I use a microphone so that they can all hear me. They can shout out questions. Meanwhile, other instructors walk around watching and helping me teach. They had to install all new monitors in the clinic. What a difference we’ve seen in how well and how quickly students catch on. So, it’s ideal.

Saccuzzo instructing student
Saccuzzo instructing a student

What do you plan to do in retirement?
The first thing I’m going to do is rock a few days on my porch in North Carolina. I have a little sign in my office that says, “The mountains are calling and I must go.” As much as I love what I do for a living, it’s time to move forward. My daughter is in North Carolina now, so I’ll be close to her.

Maggie Valley, N.C. is a little west of Asheville. It’s close to ABTech, the college I graduated from. I know that they have a part-time position at ABTech. That might be something I’ll think about pursuing. I also want to travel a little bit.

I’m co-author on our instrumentation textbook, Fundamentals of Periodontal Instrumentation and Advanced Root Instrumentation.” Jill Gehrig, a dental hygiene educator and co-author of the textbook, is retiring and said that she’d like me to continue on as the sole author. I’m not quite sure about that yet. I’ve done a lot of videos for the textbook and the rewrite on the last textbook. It’s widely used and published in three languages.

Are you going to North Carolina to live?
Yes, I have a log cabin up there that we’ve had for years. My husband and I bought the wood, we let it weather for a year, and we built. He drew the plans. My husband passed away before he spent any time there and before we finished it. My brother helped me finish building it. And my children and grandbabies have enjoyed it. It’s on a mountain with beautiful views. North Carolina is slow moving. If you call someone and you need work done during deer hunting season, you can forget it. You’re just going to have to wait until it’s over.

What are you going to miss the most about SFSC?
I’ll miss all of the people I work with and I’ll miss the students. Our second-year Dental Hygiene students were saying, “You can’t leave until we graduate!” Students who graduated years ago often call me for various reasons, sometimes when they have an ethical dilemma. I had one who called last year to say that her neck and back were really hurting and didn’t know what she was doing wrong. She asked if she could come in so that I could identify the problem by watching her work. Of course, I said, “Yes.” Posture is something we really have to teach. Two students who graduated five years ago stopped by the other day and brought me flowers and chocolates just to tell me what a difference I had made in their lives. That goes straight to the heart. That’s what it’s all about.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?
I have been more than blessed with my job at SFSC and with the opportunities that have been put in front of me. I’ve been blessed with the people who have encouraged me and supported me all of these years. The day I came here, I met Kevin [Brown] and he was nothing but supportive and he wanted me here full time. Deb [Dr. Deborah Milliken, Dental Education chair] has been one of the best mentors I could ever ask for. She’s wonderful.

Since COVID-19, College administration has been so supportive, trying to get us everything we needed to make sure our patients, students, staff, and faculty are safe. Aerosols are a big deal with COVID. That’s how it spreads. Dr. Leitzel made sure that we had our extra oral suction unit in place. We fog our clinic after every clinic session with salt water – it brings the bacteria to the ground and, eventually, it dies.

Most of all, we’re here for the students. We’re here to see them succeed and that’s been my goal. They are open and funny and fun. I try to make learning fun. Some days it works and sometimes it doesn’t. But I hope and pray that I’ve made a difference in their lives.