With a love for her family, dental hygiene and photography, Michele Gorden, R.D.H., B.S., M.A., full-time dental hygienist in the dental faculty practice clinic, has a passion for life.
After graduating from the Health Science Center with a certificate in dental hygiene in 1986, she continued to study for her bachelor’s degree in health care administration and took a hygiene job in Europe for a year and a half. It was then that her love for photography began.
The natural beauty of Switzerland may have changed Gorden’s life. As she took several photographs, she realized how much she enjoyed capturing moments in time. As her love for life and nature grew, so did her passion for photographing it. After traveling to other parts of the world, she returned home with several albums full of photos and friends and family began encouraging her to share her work with others. She displayed several of her favorite photos in her office and received many compliments on her work. Later, Gorden entered her photos into contests and won several prestigious awards. In 2004, her work placed first and second and she also received an honorable mention at the annual Texas Dental Association meeting photo contest.
“My patients were always telling me what a wonderful photographer I was,” Gorden said. “I’m still humbled by the compliment. I would not have known otherwise because I never studied photography.”
Although Gorden’s award-winning photography began as only a hobby, it has been featured in several restaurants, dental offices, and a national magazine, and has become increasingly popular around the San Antonio area. She donates many pictures to local and national charities, including KLRN, the Health Science Center Dental School and the American Heart Association. The demand for her work has grown so much that a world-famous company, Toyota, found an interest in it.
“The new Toyota plant is being built on the JLC Ranch, the oldest ranch in Texas,” Gorden explained. “The owners of the land are friends of mine and they allowed me to take pictures of it before the land was taken over by Toyota. I presented the photographs to Toyota and they want to use them in their historical center that will be built as a part of the new plant.”
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| One of Gorden's award-winning photos. | |
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Although Gorden enjoys photographing “life in general,” many of her photographs make her job as a dental hygienist evident. She has several prized photos of unique animal mouths.
Gorden’s passion is balanced with being a full-time dental hygienist, wife of 10 years, and the mother of two daughters, Ashley and Shelby. She strives each day to help others and try to make a difference in lives. She finds new doors of opportunity open each time she exhibits her work and shares her passion for photography.
“I love to give to the community,” Gorden said. “I’m like a South Texas Oprah! I love to make people happy and if I can make that happen with my photographs, I’m glad to do it. We have so many blessings in our lives. It’s important to be thankful for that.”
