The All About Hennessey POST Features 2 students from the Hennessey High School intern program each week. This week’s students are Lesly Perez and Blaney Sturgill.
Lesly Perez is a senior at HHS interning at Family Dental in Enid. Lesly was born in Amarillo, Texas when she was three years old and began PreK in Hennessey.
She played volleyball during her freshman and is a member of YAHL (Youth Action for Health Leadership). During the past few years, she worked at Casa Teja, and then Golden Chick. This fall Lesly signed up for the National Guard and will begin boot camp in August of 2025 delaying college plans for one year.
Lesly originally considered becoming a dental assistant but when she attended a conference she stumbled onto an informational booth about becoming a dental hygienist. Since that day she hasn’t wavered about her career path, and being an intern at Family Dental has led her to the conclusion she made the right decision to become a dental hygienist.
Lesly works under a hygienist named Amy at Family Dental. She has given Lesly exposure to the day-to-day routine of a dental hygienist and has been able to compare x-rays, and learned about a procedure called dental probing. Lesly has also had hands-on experience in suctioning the mouth of a patient while Amy cleaned the patient’s teeth. They have been so supportive there and believe in the internship program offered here at HHS.
After boot camp she will enroll at the University of Oklahoma to begin work on her B.S. Degree in Dental Hygiene.
Blaney Sturgill is an HHS junior and is an intern for Colby Robertson at R&H Auto & Trucks in Hennessey. Blaney was born in Whitesburg, Kentucky, and moved to Hennessey during his elementary school years.
He has been a tuba player for the band since sixth grade and participated in football, track, and student council, and is in his fourth year of FFA and he regularly attends the FBC Youth Group.
His favorite pastime is racing outlaw sprint cars spending time racing at the Shawnee Expo Center during the winter and in the summer he can be found in racing in Minco, Oklahoma.
Blaney’s dream is to work on a NASCAR pit crew. His dad worked with NASCAR as a tire specialist. Blaney spent time when he was younger hosting races with his dad in Kentucky. Racing is serious for his dad and tells this story. Blaney was about three years old and he was with his father at the races and cut his ear on something. He was rushed to the ER. Blaney said when done they immediately went back to the racetrack.
Blaney hopes to head to North Carolina after graduation and attend a training institute to prepare him as a pit crew member. Word of mouth and being an athlete are important when it comes to earning a spot on the pit crew. Blaney stated that he enjoys his time working under Colby Robertson and shared that he is learning new things.
Both Lesly and Blaney are part of the Hennessey School Career & Internship Program. This program, directed by Kim Hallmark matches students with business allowing them to experience real-life day-to-day operations in a career field they have an interest in.
