Granite Edvance Scholarship winner Isabella Washburn: ‘I now get to help others become comfortable with the uncomfortable’

Anyone who has sat in a dentist’s chair recently can likely appreciate Isabella Washburn’s professional goal: “to bring optimal levels of comfort and care to each patient.”  

It’s more than a goal, though. It’s a calling. “Having the ability to help others feel comfortable is something that will always be super important to me, as I know exactly how it feels being in their position,” said Isabella, who is studying dental hygiene at NHTI.  

When she says that, she’s not talking about root canals, but about the moments in life when she had to do the hard thing.  

Growing up in a military family, Isabella learned at a young age how to adapt to new environments and situations. She started taking dance lessons as a small child and grew to love the mental, physical, and emotional challenge of performing. “Dance allowed me to be both an athlete and an artist,” said Isabella, a winner of a 2024 Granite Edvance Leadership Scholarship.  

At Concord High School, Isabella took on another challenge when she began helping with new student orientation. “Deciding to take a leadership role pushed me out of my comfort zone and opened up a whole new world for me,” she said.  

In turn, she was able to support others in taking on new challenges. “I now get the opportunity to help others become comfortable with the uncomfortable,” she said. “I learned that each student has different needs to reach comfort. It taught me how to work with various personalities to make sure each person got to where they needed to be.”  

Now teaching dance and choreographing dance routines, Isabella hopes to employ her leadership skills in her future career as well. As she develops methods and practices for patient care, she wants to find opportunities to share her findings with others in her field.