Episode #52: Meet Amanda Sayler

In this episode, we sit down with Banning USD alumna Amanda Salyer, who returns to share her journey into the field of dental hygiene. From her time as a student in Banning to becoming a licensed professional, Amanda talks about what inspired her career choice, the challenges she overcame, and her advice for students exploring the health sciences.

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome to the Banning Unified School District Real Talk Podcast, a space dedicated to amplifying the voices of our vibrant school community. Here, we shine a spotlight on the stories, achievements, and experiences of students, staff, and families across Banning Unified School District. Join us as we explore meaningful conversations about education, community initiatives, and the topics that matter most to our district. Welcome to the Banning USD Real Talk Podcast. In today's episode, we're excited to welcome Amanda Sawyer, a proud Banning Unified School District alumna who built a successful career as a dental hygienist. Amanda is back to share her inspiring journey from Banning High School to the world of dental care. And how her experiences here help shaped her.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

So we're back. We are back again to the Banning Real Talk podcast, and I am so excited about our guests. I know some of you guys who listen, I mean the three or four of you that who listen all the time, you're like, you always say you're excited. I am really excited about our guest because our guest is an alumna. Is that how you say it? Who wrote that? Alumna versus alumni?

SPEAKER_02 1:12

Yeah. I guess just more proper.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Oh, okay. So Angel is in here making sure that I'm proper. But we have an alumna with us. Miss Amanda Sailor. Is that how you say it? How you say your last name?

unknown 1:25

Salya. Saler.

SPEAKER_02 1:26

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

No, no, no. I'm close. Salyer. Salyer. Amanda Salyer. And what's very interesting about Amalia, Amanda Saler, Amanda, is I'll we'll talk about how I met, how we met, but she is a banning graduate, and we're not going to talk about the year unless you want to. And so you're deeply rooted in our community. And so when I got to know you, you're talking about all these things. I'm like, whoa, what? And then what you do for a living, I'm like, this is great. And so I said, you have to come on the show because our community listens, and you're a shining star for our community and our alumni. So welcome to the show, Amanda. And we want you to tell the world, not just banning. I mean, not let me say that differently. Not, yeah, not just banning, not just inland empire, the world, because people are listening all around the world to this podcast. And so tell them who you are. Tell us who you are.

SPEAKER_03 2:27

Well, thank you for having me. I am actually really excited.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

How are you associated with banning Unified and Let's Getting Go?

SPEAKER_03 2:33

I am Amanda Salier. Um I'm a banning high school alumni, class of 2014. I should have been class of 2015, but I did graduate early. Um, so shout out to both of those classes. Um I'm a registered dental hygienist, and I also, not this past year, but the year before, I was uh assistant coach for the girls flag football team with Coach uh Miss Delarosa, and then um the girls' wrestling team with Coach uh Dab.

unknown 3:00

Coach.

SPEAKER_03 3:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

What about family? Brothers, sisters, how long you've been in banning? Okay. I've been in banning pretty much my entire life. What about family? Brothers, sisters, how long you've been in banning, all of that.

SPEAKER_03 3:14

Um I have nine siblings. I have seven sisters and two brothers. Um my family's been here for a long time, like I said. Ken Swellow's actually the restaurant is my grandmother's mother's restaurant, so now my aunt owns it. So we've my family's been here for such a long time, and it's it's a blessing to be around town and be like, oh, there's my cousin. Hey, that's my cousin. Every time I turn around, I have a new family member, so I think that's pretty neat. We we're all pretty tight-knit here, it seems like. Um, but honestly, like coaching was such an exciting experience, and it really taught me a lot as who I am as a person. And I experienced I'm I couldn't be more grateful for that. And I plan on hopefully being able to come back next year and try to volunteer a little bit more and get back into that because last year I wasn't able to as much.

SPEAKER_02 4:00

Okay, so just a few follow-up questions.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

When you were here as a student now. This last year I wasn't able to as much. Okay, so just a few follow-up questions. When you were here as a student, now she said it was supposed to be 2015, but it was 14. Okay, we're in 2026. That's not that long ago. Okay. So you've done a lot of things since we're gonna get into that. Um when you were at the high school as a student, did you play sports?

unknown 4:27

I did. I did.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

Umleyball, wrestling, wrestling, yes, I loved it. Volleyball, I was now wrestling, yeah. So you're tough. Softball. Softball. I was good. I was. And then uh soccer, you say.

unknown 4:44

Softball.

SPEAKER_01 4:45

Softball. Okay, so you're like a year-round athlete. That's what you've always been when you were younger growing up.

SPEAKER_03 4:54

Um when I stopped playing that.

SPEAKER_01 4:56

Okay, so what made you say I want to come back to the other?

SPEAKER_03 5:00

Actually, both Delarose and Victoria and Miss Priscilla, those are my like sisters basically. My best friends have become sisters, and they were out there getting involved in the community, not only teaching, but coaching. And I respected how the kids respected them both as teachers and coaches, and I really liked how they were making a difference in the programs and building it up. So it drew me out there to do more for the community and for our students.

SPEAKER_01 5:25

Okay, and you're a special person. That's why you're here because there's some things that I'm gonna do. Okay, and you're a special person, and I'm gonna get into that, and that's why you're here, because there's some things that I learned about you, and you just have this uh different perspective on life and giving back and being a part of, and you just mentioned it right there. Uh can you tell our audience uh what it was like being a student here not that long ago? Um, I think you graduated uh after Angel did, so that's good.

SPEAKER_02 5:58

Angel before what you graduated before I did it.

SPEAKER_01 6:01

Before. Oh, oh a couple years. Oh wow. But that's okay. Oh my gosh. I I oh I thought I was I thought you were gonna be older, still not older yet, but that's okay. So what was it like being a student here? And what are some of your fondest memories that you have?

SPEAKER_03 6:20

Well I started growing up, you have the same class. It's such a small town. So the people that I went to kindergarten with, I ended up graduating with. And it was really neat because here it's such a small town. So growing up, going from kindergarten, first grade, second grade up, you have the same like friends and the same people you're going to school with, and it becomes a family. And so I think that's what's so special about our community is growing up, all the people are a family, and you you learn to learn things about people and enjoy things about them. And that was my favorite thing is having the same group of people from when I was younger till when I graduated. Um and I think that's what makes it special.

SPEAKER_01 6:57

Okay, so let me ask this question. Did I answer it all the way? Can I think about our community? Okay, so let me ask this question. I leave that in the community. Well, I I think about our community, and I think about things from the past, and I I leave that in the past. We're just in a different space in our city and in our district than we were. And that's a good thing, not a bad thing. It's growth. But I what I've kind of learned though, those students in Banning, if they are positive, if they're trying to do the right thing, they're going to classes, they're getting their stuff done, they're they seem to me to be invincible. And I think it I that's why I want to ask you. It it it's it's kind of going back to what you said. You grow up together, you know each other. So when people, when students talk trash about someone else or whatever, you know everybody. And so it's like, don't go down that road because you're not going too far. We know who you are, this is what it is. Is that what is that little culture about how students interact and behave?

SPEAKER_03 7:56

Like you said, everything is each other and and when maybe there's like discrepancies or different things like that. Um there's some people who who kind of correct it within themselves, like, hey, that's my friend, like don't don't talk about it or don't do that. And I think that's the cool part about the tight nipness of everybody being close. It's like, hey, let's let's correct it now. Okay. Um but when I was growing up, things were a little bit different. Like you said, it's it's changed quite a bit. And now I think like I see it more. We're when I was growing up, things were a little bit more. I guess people are correcting themselves. We did it back then, but maybe not nearly as much as it could have been, if if that makes sense. But now I see it where when I'm at the school and I'm like, hey, these kids are looking out for each other, they have each other's back. And that's respect. Like I respect them for that. And and I I see the way the kids are growing as not only people but young adults now. They're they're learning, hey, this isn't okay, let's fix it at this this level rather than you know back in the day. People used to fight or things like that. I and so that I don't know, I don't I don't want to go too far into that. I don't know if we're allowed to talk about that.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

But yeah, you this is this is free flow. It's real talk. But the point I I think I got it. But but that's yeah, you this is this is free flow, it's real talk. But but the point I I think I got it. It's it's because of that change in the community over time that there's more of self-correct, there's more of understanding. I think there's actually more of I don't know the word for it, but like, I I want to be here, I want to do this. So these are the behaviors I have to have in order to excel. And I see that in our students. And the interesting thing about you, Amanda, is that you saw that as a student growing up here, but also coming back to coach and seeing our students and not being that far away in their age, if you will. So you're really like ingrained in it, which is really interesting, going to what you do for a living that we're gonna talk about in a little bit. So that's that's that's awesome. That makes a lot of sense now.

SPEAKER_02 9:52

So, uh Amanda, many students might not know what a dental hygienist is or what they actually do. Um can you please walk us through hygienists or day-to-day. People think we just kind of clean tea.

SPEAKER_03 10:05

But we are most definitely uh more than that, because that is what we do, right? We we bring our patients back in um clean teeth. But it is where we're building these relationships, we're bringing these people back, maybe some that we've never met before, and we're introducing ourselves, we're constantly throughout the day kind of adapting our personalities toward our patient to make them feel more comfortable. Um but while we're doing that, uh we're also educators, we're educating our patients on oral hygiene, the effects of oral hygiene, periodontal disease, gingivitis, uh periodontitis, things like that. Um we're doing oral cancer screenings, uh, we're we're just making sure our patients are kind of understanding like the mouth-body connection, the way bacteria affects everything. Um so that is like what we do in a day and a life of as a hygienist, um, with the perks of you know taking x-rays and sterilization. It's a lot, but that's that's what we do, and I I enjoy it. But the biggest thing was building those relationships, and I think that's the best part of it.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

And how long was the training, the program to do that?

unknown 11:08

Building those relationships.

SPEAKER_03 11:10

Uh, dental hygienist is two years, I think. And how long was the training? Which is close. Uh, but prior to that it's almost a little bit better if you become a dental assistant first, which is what the route that I took. I I wanted to start at the bottom, I wanted to get a feel for how everybody did things um and build myself up from there. And now I kind of take in my experiences as a dental assistant to become a better hygienist because I would see um maybe sometimes dental assistants get stressed out. They have all these crazy schedules, and somebody needs to help them take out the trash. And I I experienced that where people didn't want to help do the the dirty things in dentistry, right? Like take out the trash or or do the instruments. And so as a hygienist, I've lived that as an assistant. So when I see them get backed up, I jump in and I help them as much as I can because I I am a provider, but at the end of the day, this office needs to be taken care of, and my job is to help assist them in that as well. So I think that's important to me. And I wanted to take that.

unknown 12:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:11

Before I do that though, um, you didn't go to And you said a bunch of things in there I'm gonna dive into. Before I do that though, what did you do? You didn't go to I was a dental assistant.

SPEAKER_03 12:20

First I went to dental assisting school.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

Be a hygienist right out of high school. What did you do?

SPEAKER_03 12:24

I kind of was on that little route for a little bit, and then I did um go into the army um just for a brief amount of time, but I did enjoy it. I was a signal support specialist, so I worked on radio, satellites, computers, things like that, but that set me up to be a hygienist. It it allowed me to have access to um my GI Bill to take care of my dental hygiene school.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

So you've been out of high school for 12 years coming up in June to take care of my dental hygiene school. So you've been out of high school for 12 years coming up in June soon. And you've done a lot of things. That's what I found very extraordinary about you. And I'll just tell you this brief story. I don't think I even told you, Amanda's that maybe I did. I I have this issue with my teeth. And so I changed dentists because it just wasn't operating the way it needs to be from my vantage point. And so I'm always leery about when I change because I used to have this hygienist who lived in my mouth. It was like I would go there and she would dive in and she would be in there doing stuff, and I just she was a trainer. She uh she taught me about how to take care of my teeth. I listened and she was outstanding. Now, this was a long time ago, and I never kind of quite found someone exactly like that. So then here I go, I changed dentists, and here is this young lady, Amanda, coming in. I don't even, she's got on her stuff, mask, all this stuff. And we start talking, and she starts talking about banning, and I'm like, what? So I'm like, what do you mean, banning? Oh, yeah, I I used to go to banning. I'm like, whoa, wait a second. But the thing that really struck me about you is that you talked about volunteering. You talked about students, you talked about how do we get them care. Hey, if there's something that I can donate, volunteer my time to help kids on a mobile truck, I'll do that. Uh the training, but more importantly, how we have to take care of ourselves. Because if we don't take care of ourselves, we cannot take care of anyone else. And I'll say that I think I've been in the office now at least twice with you, maybe three times. You exude that. You exude that in everything you do, and I was just really blown away at you as a human being and how you approach the world and the work that you do to care for others. And that's why I really wanted you to go on the show, because you are a model for our students, someone who wants to aspire. You're doing it.

SPEAKER_03 14:52

I appreciate it's nice to know when you're going to give yourself to your career and you're you're exerting your energy and your time. It's nice when you know people appreciate it and they enjoy it, and you're you know what you're doing is making a difference and an impact, and it's always nice to hear that. So thank you.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

So students can do it.

SPEAKER_03 15:09

Yes, yes, they can. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

So with that being said, so students can do it, they can do anything, right? And you would know. So with that being said, it's my last question for a while. Um, if you could go back and tell your high school self one thing, what would it be?

SPEAKER_03 15:29

And what would you tell our current students? It's gonna build you and set you up for who you're gonna become, and you're gonna love that version of yourself. So take the good, take the bad, and let it mold you into who you're supposed to be. Um, and I think that's what I would love to tell myself because over time that's one thing I've like I'm ri I constantly I'm reminding myself, like, yes, this bad thing happened, but it's setting me up for who I'm supposed to be. And so that is special to me, and that's what I would tell myself. Where did you get that from? Where does that come from?

SPEAKER_01 15:58

That's just not easy.

SPEAKER_03 15:59

I I think I'm a very hard person on myself, so it's kind of meaningful. Where did you get that from? What does that come from? Okay, and I've kind of learned that over time. So that's where I got that from, is from myself, really digging deep. So for what I would tell like the students now, it's almost the same exact thing. You know, you have good days, you have bad days, maybe you're crying or you're upset over you're not doing a good on a test or or whatever the situation is. It's just take that, accept it, sit with it for a moment, but don't sit with it for too long and and just kind of not shrug it off, but you know what, it happened, it's okay, let's move on and let's make something better. Let's make sure that doesn't happen again. And so that's what I would kind of tell them is take what's happening, let it mold you, and just keep going.

SPEAKER_01 16:39

It's not a bad day, it's a bad moment.

SPEAKER_03 16:41

Yes, it's a season. It you know, it's not gonna be bad forever.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

It's not a bad day, it's a bad moment. Yes, it's a season.

unknown 16:48

It's not gonna be bad forever.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

And you said this, you said sit with it for a moment, but not too long. That's that's wise, Angel. And you graduated after her. We actually had to do that.

SPEAKER_02 17:04

No, the uh this is amazing, and it really I think a lot of our students we actually had one of our students come in and do a podcast as well. And he was talking about the the amount of activities, dual enrollment classes that he's in, and he's like doing these AP things, and he's involved in all the activities, and it it was just amazing just to see how he like handles his entire schedule to do that. And a lot of times those students um are very hard on themselves, and they don't take those opportunities to have that self-reflection moment to be like, it's okay that I got this or this, I went through this, but I'm gonna continue to move forward. Um so you know although you didn't go speaking on giving advice to students, you know, um although you didn't go to be a dental hygienist right away, um you had some steps before you went there, what advice would you give to some students that are unshared?

SPEAKER_03 18:00

This is a hard one because it's at that time, like you don't think you know what you want, or you but you do think you know what you want. So it's it's back and forth. So for students that think like, okay, I think I want to go on this career path, one thing that I've learned is do it, try it. If it's not meant for you and you you tried it and it wasn't it's not what you wanted, there's so many other things you can try. And so if you want to go to cooking school and learn how to be a cook, well, okay, go go do that. And you're like, man, I don't like being in the kitchen. This isn't for me. Okay, now let's sit sit with it, go find another career. But guess what? You have all of these tools to go home and cook a good meal on your own and enjoy those traits that you've learned from it. So I think for the kids that are kind of unsure about their career path, the one thing is go out and try it. The worst the worst thing is if you don't like it, there's gonna be something else for you to attempt to try. And the best thing is is you've gained so much knowledge from that one career that you may not enjoy anymore, but you have it. And so there's a lot of career uh tests online to kind of see what suits you. And believe me from experience, they work. The first career that pops up every time I take that test, dental hygienist. I'm not joking. So it those tests really do work. Well, I I enjoy dental hygiene, I love it. I love you want to public health style. But eventually, now that I'm kind of getting to that stage of okay, I'm I'm thinking bigger, I'm thinking retirement, I'm thinking benefits, I'm thinking of all of these things. I have to think about that, right?

SPEAKER_01 19:33

Retirement benefits? You graduated from high school in 2014.

SPEAKER_03 19:37

And so right now I'm I'm contemplating on different career paths. I I was debating on going back to IT. I was actually in a program for that, but back to maybe the crap the career isn't for us. I've been sitting with it and I'm like, man, is this what I really want to do, or is there gonna be something else that's calling me? So in that program that I was in the middle of doing, I currently am stepping back from it because I was like, I don't think this is taking my passion and letting me run with it. So now I'm sitting with it and I'm actually, I was just talking with Miss Victoria, not to go too far off course, but um I was sitting there thinking, like, well, maybe do I want to be a kindergarten teacher? Do I want to be an elementary school teacher? Do I want to take my passion for teaching my patients to the younger generation, like I said, making those changes and and helping them build something or maybe even implementing dental care at a younger age to avoid the issues we have later on? I I don't know. So here I am kind of deciding what do I want to do with my career at 29, but I love dental hygiene. So yeah, so to those kids that are wondering their career, you're gonna want to change it later on in life. Look at me.

SPEAKER_01 20:38

Well, if you ever want to come into the school system, this is the school system to come into. Yes. Well, if you ever want to come into the school system, this is the school system to come into, and we will be here for you, ready to go. Even if I don't work here, then I'll know someone who works here and we'll we'll figure it out. Oh, so with that being said, uh, where are you at in your in the birth order?

SPEAKER_03 21:02

My mother has myself and my my brother. So I'll I'll just kick all of us together. I am number three. But I'm my mother's oldest daughter, and I I definitely exert older daughter energy. I'm very nurturing, loving to my sisters. Um, and I have six little sisters, one older. And so my sister and sisters are my babies, essentially. I love them.

SPEAKER_01 21:24

So you just naturally had a lot of responsibility. Okay. So you just naturally had a lot of responsibility. Absolutely that whether you take it on or you had to, that you just kind of oversee that and keep moving, right? That that's like carrying weight. And carrying weight is okay if you can balance it and you can take care of yourself. And what I know about you, and I don't know you that well, that well, but what I can feel from you and its energy is that you seem to like glide. Through that, but you're going to be articulate about, hey, you should be doing this or that, like guiding people, but you're not going to let it kind of collapse.

SPEAKER_03 22:10

It's okay to want for yourself. It's okay to step back and be like, I need a break. I need to, I need to slow down a little bit. And so that's where I think like balancing it is so important because it is easy to glide, and sometimes you might tip a little bit too much because you're you're taking on too much on your plate. And so I've kind of really learned to just slow down and be like, it's okay. I need I need five minutes. I need a day to myself. Don't talk to me, don't text me, don't go reach out. But I've learned it's okay to be selfish at some point. It's okay to think about yourself. Is that a generational thing?

SPEAKER_01 22:39

I don't know. It might be. I'm just now getting to that. Is that a generational thing? I don't know. I'm I listen, I I'm just now getting to that. I'm doing that now. Because if I don't do it, then I'm not at my best.

SPEAKER_00 22:54

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

And when I'm not at my best, it doesn't go well for anyone, including especially myself. So slow down.

SPEAKER_03 23:01

I listen to one short one.

SPEAKER_01 23:03

Have you listened? Did you have you listened to the podcast?

SPEAKER_03 23:07

Yes. It was fitting in your schedule. Okay, all right. Okay. Did you go? I'm gonna pick this short one.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

It was fitting in my schedule.

unknown 23:15

I was like, I need to listen to one before I go.

SPEAKER_01 23:17

Okay. That means you are prepared. That's that's good, Amanda. Okay, so our theme for this year and is two years in a row. I I've I've gotten to send it out to get some feedback. We have sent it out to get some feedback, and they wanted it to be we are banning again. And that's coming up again. What does that phrase mean to you?

SPEAKER_03 23:39

It really like I it goes back to what I was saying earlier. It means family. I think we are banning. We're a small knit community, um, and that's what that means to me. We are banning. We are the people we grew up with from kindergarten to high school to to the end of high school. Um we are banning is I guess it would be like I I don't even want to be repetitive, but like I don't even know how to describe it. It's family. I think it's community. That that's what it is to me.

SPEAKER_02 24:11

I think it's because it is yes. I think it's because like you were saying earlier, how rooted your family is in with the city itself, and then also within the school system of having friends or colleagues or things like that that are teachers. I know you mentioned earlier you have siblings that are actually in high school right now too. So it's like no matter what, um, it's it's like a root system that's that's all through it.

SPEAKER_03 24:40

I am we I I I really am. I I think that like you said, that was perfect. Thank you very much. And are you proud of that? And the foundation of it. It it makes me feel proud because before when I when I was getting ready to get out of high school, I couldn't wait to get away. I wanted to get away, but here I am, I'm back, right? Like and it I see it from a different perspective. You go to all these towns and they're so big, people don't know each other, they don't say good morning or anything like that. So when you come back and you really realize how tight tight-knit of a community it is, whether you're related or you you've known them forever, it's beautiful. You're like, wow, this is something that we can kind of grow. You know, if you water your your plants, they're gonna grow, right? So if we water, we put the water into our community, it's gonna be different. It's gonna, it's gonna be what we wanted when we were younger.

SPEAKER_01 25:21

I like that. We just have to make sure we have the right soil. Yes, supplements to the soil, I like that we've been working on it. We just have to make sure we have the right soil and the supplements to the soil, and that's what we've been working on, like the conditions for the growth. Because we got water on, we got the spigot on now, but let's make sure that soil is right. That's what we're working on. I like oh Amanda. Okay, so before we get out of here, we're gonna move into the the fun part of this where we really get to know you. Uh Angel, what you got?

SPEAKER_02 25:52

Yeah, so we we do this. Um we really want to know our favorite activity guest today. And so we're gonna ask you some questions on some spotlight questions. And so the first one is what favorite activity, hobby, or show games you're watching on TV right now.

SPEAKER_03 26:07

I I love video games. I've I played them forever, yes. I I grew up with my cousins, and it was like my four guys, my little brother, and we had to make uh agreement. If I would go play video games with them and they'd had to play Barbies with me. I was only I was the only girl at that time. So it was like I grew up playing video games since I was a kid, and that's my favorite thing to do in my spare time. If I don't, if I'm not doing a million other things, I'm sitting there on my computer. I'm I'm playing Call of Duty, I'm playing um you know, you name it, I'm playing it. Okay.

unknown 26:38

The computer or like a PlayStation?

SPEAKER_03 26:40

Well, I had an Xbox growing up and boys had an Xbox, so on that debate of Xbox. But I ended up having a PC, so now I have a PC. It's something you built, because this is all it's not anything I built. I bought a pre pre-made one where it's already.

SPEAKER_01 27:05

Okay, last question associated to this. Now, if you buy one, it's not like a regular laptop computer.

SPEAKER_03 27:13

So it's a little bit more advanced for the the graphics of the video games.

SPEAKER_02 27:17

It has got everything. So it's a little bit not advanced for the graphics.

SPEAKER_01 27:22

A little bit more of it. Angel, do you are you?

SPEAKER_02 27:25

I'm not a gamer, but I know what she's talking about. Okay, alright. It's just the the computer configurations for it to allow for gaming, the graphics, the RAM, processing, and all those things.

SPEAKER_01 27:36

I I guess it's a good thing for for kids, right? Because my son, he this is years ago, he wanted to build a computer, and now there's a case and there's things inside of the case, like colors and all this stuff.

SPEAKER_03 27:47

It it's just fun.

SPEAKER_01 27:48

I don't I don't get it, but I don't okay, let's move on. Okay, all right.

unknown 27:53

It's just fun.

SPEAKER_01 27:54

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02 27:56

Uh but did you have any other uh I really used to enjoy playing softball.

SPEAKER_03 28:02

Sometimes I'll try to get out there when I can. Sure. Um, and then my shape my favorite show on television right now is definitely from it's off MGM. And it's like a little bit of more of like a horror kind of thriller one. And I don't want to give any spoilers. It's a good show.

SPEAKER_02 28:20

He's amazed. Um what favorite side? Interesting. I'm just gonna say I have a lot of little sisters, so most definitely Taylor Swift.

SPEAKER_03 28:32

So I grew up a Swifty when I was younger, and then I kind of fell off, and then now she's big and you know, she's she's out there, and all the girls love her. So most definitely Taylor Swift.

unknown 28:40

She's okay.

SPEAKER_01 28:46

Um, I have a daughter who's third. Who just had a child. Um, uh we we uh we do not refer to me as grandpa, we call me papa crazy. Growing up listening? Um but nevertheless, uh you just said something. Yes. What did you just say that made me say that? I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 29:03

Growing up listening? Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 29:05

Yes, the it's the swifty stuff. And I was thinking, well, second the air. But I guess that's the Oh yeah, see, it's definitely our age. I missed that one. Oh, she's she's she's she loves her. She quotes and this and that, and uh, I don't I just I just back away.

unknown 29:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:21

So Amanda, are you working on anything exciting now or in the new?

SPEAKER_03 29:25

Every year I do like volunteer clinics for dental hygiene. And so uh just this past February, that's what I I did. I I volunteered four days um doing free dental cleanings for the community out in India. Um and so that's one thing that I always look forward to every year is is getting out there doing those clinics. Um that's something in the near future. I know they have clinics already getting ready to go. Um that I plan on hopefully volunteering for those other ones as well. And then um in the near future, you know, continuing my education and maybe going around that route of uh being an educator later on, like I was explaining earlier.

SPEAKER_01 30:00

That's awesome. I'm feeling a little uh being I don't know, vulnerable that's awesome. I'm feeling a little I don't know, vulnerable, uh insecure because you're probably like that dude's mouth is messed up.

SPEAKER_00 30:16

But yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

Because I don't know, I mean, you guys are like in there, like you guys scopes and stuff, you're all periodically involved patient I've ever I've ever seen.

SPEAKER_03 30:29

And that that kind of hit me because I'm a compassionate provider and I'm an educator, and and that one was like, man, like this person's only less than 50, and I I think like you know, the staging is gonna be the outcome's not gonna be good, you know, due to our oral hygiene. And sometimes mental health kind of affects that as well. And so mental does mess with your dental, and um and so I it was really bothering me, but I when I see people, I don't judge them on their you know, their mouth. We've all have come from different walks of life. And who am I to judge? I'm here to do the job and make sure that you leave feeling better than you did when you got here. And so um, I don't judge people based on what they have going on. I I I judge myself on how can I make it to where they can make the change to feel more confident or be happier with their smile or their mouth in general.

SPEAKER_01 31:15

Okay, well, can you give a public service announcement to our listeners about Okay, well, can you give a public service announcement to our listeners about how important hygiene is oral hygiene is things.

SPEAKER_03 31:30

I mean, uh we harbor so much bacteria in our mouth, and and the bacteria affects our body in such many different ways. Uh people don't think that dental is as as important as it is, but if you think about it, if we're not brushing and flossing, that bacteria is sitting in our mouth, and every time we eat, every time we drink, we're ingesting that. And it's bacteria, right? Bacteria is not good for the body. There is good some good bacteria, but that bad bacteria, what is it gonna do to your heart? What is it gonna do to your um your body in general? So there's this thing, it's called the mouth-body connection, and everybody should read up on it, and it it explains the importance of what happens if you're not taking care of your mouth and how it affects your body early on to Alzheimer's, dementia. It's linked to all of these things. So our our oral environment is the pathway to our body. So it's extremely important. Go to go see your dentist, go see your dental hygienist, tell them how much uh you appreciate them. I know I'm just kidding, but really just go out there and make the difference. Let them let them work on you, let them help you, and and you'll you'll you should feel better, you should you'll smile more, you know, it'll build your confidence. So I think the oral hygiene is extremely important and obviously I'm passionate about it. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:39

And I'll and I will say I have a pretty dynamic uh oral hygiene routine. And and I'll and I will say I have a pretty dynamic uh oral hygiene routine at night and in the morning. And you told me something when it was about flossing, because I used to floss all the time, then I kind of fell off. Is that so now I um water pick and then I brush, and then I do the other things in between, and then I uh floss, and then I do mouthwash, and then I do the whitening. So I have this protocol, but if you do it consistently, it becomes that. But it really is important.

SPEAKER_03 33:18

Thank you for listening.

SPEAKER_01 33:20

Yeah, but but thank you for your advice and thank you for your guidance.

SPEAKER_03 33:33

Earlier I was thinking about it and it was really hard to see like who do I resonate with? Who do I you know, really sit in sitting with that? And um there's this movie, it's called Elemental. And you know, I'm just gonna say it's like one of the greatest Disney movies out there. I love it. A lot of it's controversial, a lot of people don't like it. I love it. I cry every time I watch it. But what really I really enjoyed was um I resonate with her because, you know, she kind of had a lot of pressure um and she was wanting to kind of go on her own path in life, but she didn't want to leave her family. She didn't want to let go of that. And so um with her, when she finally kind of told her family, hey, this is what I want to do, um, they they weren't happy about it at first, but then she she got that support from them. She got essentially her dad gave her like this ultimate bow, and that was a sign of respect. Like, I respect what you're doing, I respect like letting you go. And and that is something that I resonated with because when I wanted to leave home and I I left and made the decision to go into the army. Um at first my mom's like, no, don't do it, don't do it. And then after she's like, you know what? I'm glad that you did it. It really set you up. And so it kind of resonated with that, like leaving home and and having that acceptance, like, okay, I made the right decision. So that's why I resonated with her a little bit. Is it a cartridge? It's like an animated. It's so cute, it's got a good soundtrack. I love it. So everybody go watch it. It's a good one. It's like an animated, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:54

And the the character.

SPEAKER_03 34:56

It's the generation, right? Have you seen it?

SPEAKER_01 34:59

So you guys seen it. Do you like it? See, he knows. Yeah, it's the generation. Is that what it is? Okay.

SPEAKER_03 35:04

I think it's a good idea.

SPEAKER_01 35:05

I have seen it.

SPEAKER_02 35:06

It was good. It was really good. I'm into like the film production, so I think of like the animation behind it, and I'm like, oh, I know the the effort that had to go behind it. So but I know what character you're talking about, and it definitely does that character portrays those characteristics of just really the dynamic between her and her parents, and just how you are trying your best to be there for them and kind of keep that family name going, but then you're trying to build something for yourself too.

SPEAKER_03 35:36

Hey, well, you have a grand baby now, you get to go watch it, right?

SPEAKER_02 35:41

No. Okay. All right. Papa T. So he he loves it, it's okay. Uh so on to the next thing. Do you have any shout outside?

SPEAKER_03 35:53

Firstly, my sisters that are in the high school, Harriet and Virginia Rice. We have two babies that are there. Um's a senior, one's a junior, and then um, I would really like to give a a shout out to both Miss Victoria and Miss Priscilla Della Rosa. Um, I see all the hard work you guys are putting in for the kids, and I not only just on a friend level, but I as an outsider looking in, I genuinely appreciate all of the stuff that you're doing for them and and the foundations you're building. And lastly, um Miss Miss Kylie, the athletic trainer. I cannot say enough wonderful things about her. I I just want to thank her and give her a shout out because she puts her heart and soul into these kids and and it shows she's even building that program where the students are helping her become trainers and kind of getting them into the door of the medical side. And I love that. I so huge shout out to her. And and I think that's the last shout-out I'll give.

SPEAKER_01 36:40

But so not only were you a student here, you are currently a part of our community and involved and know people. So not only were you a student here, you are currently a part of our community and involved and know people, so you're like in flow. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 36:55

It's good. Um, so I just want to say we're gonna go ahead and start to wrap up our our segment here. And so, you know, I just want to say that um every time someone it's been an amazing opportunity to meet you and just really understand. I think every time someone comes here, we get to see um a story in their perspective about the district. As someone who didn't really grow up here, although there is some parts where I was actually in banning, um, I got to really understand why it's so important here. That especially that family piece, um, of the interconnection that people have. Um I think the gratitude people have toward each other. I think the simple thing like you were saying, like people say good morning to each other, and it's so true in in bigger districts or cities, there's that disconnect that happens. But um I hear a lot of taking time for yourself is what you were really saying. And I think sometimes uh Mr. Davis says this a lot we're going, we're going, we're going, we're going. And we don't take that moment to pause to reflect or to evaluate and to really um pull ourselves together to then go ahead and and move on to the next thing. Um I wrote on here community leader because you're still part of our community. You went out and you did something for yourself, uh, for your career, but then you're still giving back. And I think that's so important. We were having that conversation before the show about uh banning alumni and just the outpour that we have for them to be involved still, and you're a great example of that.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

Come on now, no one has to say, Yeah, that's what I have.

SPEAKER_02 38:39

And Mr. Devis, do you have any?

SPEAKER_01 38:41

Oh, you come on now. No one has to say, do you have anything to say to me? Because it just comes out. Um, but I can't do that when you're doing your work because you you know, yeah, that doesn't work out well. Um but I will say this, and I'm gonna start with this. We meet with we have the opportunity to meet with students in this format, and I'm just blown away at what they think about uh how they understand that they need to do these specific things in order to have something in the future, how disciplined they are, how much they're caring, and how they manage that. I just I'm really blown away with at that. But right now I'm blown away at you were probably like that when you were in high school. Here you are 12 years later, and it's just refined. It's refined, but it's the same uh cadence, probably and the same strength and stronger. And it's like you you just do and you want to help. I just I'm really blown away at that. And so that makes me think about our students and their trajectory as they continue to go. And I and I say this banning students, and I've worked in four different districts in Riverside County, they're the strongest students that I've ever seen. And it and it happens time and time and time again. And I'm not saying anywhere else there aren't strong students, of course there are, but banning has something special. And our kids succeed and they excel. When we talk about teachers coming back here who went to school here, it's just it's it's just awesome.

SPEAKER_03 40:18

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 40:18

So you're a dental hygienist slash gamer. I I didn't even put those two together. That's wild, that's super wild. But you you talked about a lot of different things, like so sometimes people think they're wasting their time or they're upset about these things that happen to them. But as you talked about, all of those things matter. All of those things make you who you are and it makes you stronger. I was just thinking about this the other day. If you've never gone through anything challenging, how in the world are you gonna be able to help others or even be able to reflect back and go, I remember that time that this was challenging. Now I can do this. So sit with it. Don't say what that's Amanda's words. Let it sit for a little while and then move on. I I love that. I I'm gonna use it. Can I use it? Okay, you may get some. Uh we'll we'll figure out how to compensate you back. But do it and try it, but slow down. I I just love that about you. So thank you for coming on the show. Uh, this is a gift for our audience because you are uh a banning, your heart is here, it's still, it was here before, you're still here, and I just really appreciate you taking the time to come out of your busy schedule to say, hey, this is what it is, this is who I am. I care about you. I love banning.

SPEAKER_03 41:39

They're showing that it starts at the foundation, it starts with the soil, and everything that you're implementing, all the teachers, all the staff, everything that everybody's pouring into, it's reflecting into the kids. It really is. So thank you for that.

SPEAKER_01 41:49

And we see it, and it's not me, it's the team. It is everybody, it's everyone together, going in the same group. And we see it, and it's not me. It's the team, it's everyone together going in the same direction. And it's strong. So thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 42:05

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Banning USD Real Talk Podcast. We hope you enjoy the conversation and feel more connected to the heart of our district. Don't forget to follow us on social media and subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. Until next time, stay inspired, stay connected, and always remember we are Banning.