CHARLES Sturt University (CSU) dental staff have a message to those who said a dental school would not be viable without being attached to a medical school.
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Of the 32 dentistry graduates who proudly received their degrees yesterday, at least half have scored a job outside of a metropolitan area.
Shaun Day, of Albury, could barely keep the smile off his face as he collected his degree, which took four years.
But the icing on the cake is that he already has a job and it is in his home town.
He said it was not difficult securing a job with his new degree.
“I had plenty of offers,” he said.
His classmate David Kozor said he had a lot of trouble getting employment because he was looking around Sydney but once he looked elsewhere he scored a job in Albury very quickly and was loving it.
“Oh yeah I will stay there for a while at least,” he said.
“It’s a great place.”
He said he was surprised at the extensive price difference between living in Sydney and living in Albury, and had enjoyed every minute of his three-week working stint.
Vice-chancellor Andrew Vann said he was proud of all 133 graduating students in Orange but had a special place in his thoughts for those who were the first to come out of the CSU dental school.
Particularly because of the criticism directed at CSU in 2007 - from groups such as the Association for the Promotion of Oral Health - when it received a $65 million federal government grant to set up the school.
“There is a need for dentists particularly in rural areas ... it is a wonderful course that is always highly subscribed,” he said.