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Compton’s Joey Spraggins Featured in Bus Ads, Billboards
Cerritos College graduate chosen to be the face of school’s dental program

By Cheryl Scott
Bulletin Staff Writer

If you ride the buses, you may see one of your neighbors smiling down at you from the advertising panel. Joey Spraggins, who graduated last year from Cerritos College’s dental program, was chosen by the school’s faculty to be pictured in its advertisements.

She was chosen because of her beautiful smile and infectious, upbeat personality, according to the faculty.

Spraggins, who is now working for an orthodontist in Cerritos, told The Bulletin, “I haven’t actually seen the ad yet. This weekend I plan to take my daughter to see a billboard in Hawaiian Gardens, so I’ll see it then. I can’t imagine how it will be to see a picture of myself that big, staring down at me in a public place. I’m sure it’ll be something I’ll remember for a long time.”

She says that patients who come to the office where she works frequently tell her they’ve seen her in the ads. “People from everywhere say they’ve seen them,” she said. “They recognize me when they walk in the door.”

Spraggins is a single mom who went back to school to earn a degree in dental assisting. She had been working as a manager at Bally’s Fitness, but decided that she wanted to pursue the career that had always interested her.

“I first started out on a medical track while I attended Long Beach David Starr Jordan High School for its excellent medical program called AIMS (Aspirations in Medical Services) Academy,” she said.

She graduated from the program in 1994, and enrolled at Fullerton College as a biology major on the advice of her counselor. “I soon realized that this was not what I wanted to do either,” she said. “I’ve always been interested in dental care. Teeth are what people see first in your face when you smile.” But as a single mom working fulltime, it was not easy to go back to school.

“I had a lot of family support,” she said. “My aunt recommended Cerritos College because of its excellent dental program. I moved in with her, and my mom took care of my daughter Sydni so I could go full-time. Because of them I was able to finish the program in just over a year.”

An instructor at Cerritos College suggested that she try one class to see how she liked it. “I loved it,” she said. “I enrolled fulltime and really focused on becoming a dental assistant. But I had a great time while I was at it. I guess you could call me the class clown. We all had a great time, the other students, the instructors and myself.”

Spraggins graduated from the program with a 4.0 grade average. She loves her current job, but has decided to further her education. “I plan to get a bachelor’s degree and a teaching credential,” she said. “I want to become an instructor in the dental assistant program at Cerritos College.”

Why not become a dentist?

“Well, that would take at least six or eight years,” she said. “I don’t think it would be fair to Sydni to take that much time away from her. I’ll be very happy teaching in the program that I attended.”

Spraggins says that she always knew what she wanted to do but it took her a few tries to get there. “I’ve always wanted to work in the field of dentistry in some capacity,” she said. “But life never seems to take a straight road. There seem to be a lot of detours along the way to what you really want. One day I decided I was just done with the detours and it was time to get onto my true path in life. That’s what I’ve done and I’m very thankful to Cerritos College for giving me the great education and training that has gotten me this far. But it’s only the beginning.”

“Joey’s positive and infectious disposition, combined with her passion and confidence in her profession will make her an outstanding teacher and mentor for future dental professionals,” says Lydia Cosio of Cerritos College.