Work-Based Learning Teacher Enjoys Working in Same Building She Studied In

Pendleton resident Pamela Santillo has come full circle in her career, working in the same building she studied in thanks to her Erie 1 BOCES internship.

Santillo is a Work-Based Learning teacher at the Harkness Career & Technical Center. She graduated from Kenmore East High School and the Dental Laboratory program at Harkness and got her first job at her internship site, Voss Dental Lab. She stayed in that role full-time, teaching and working with around 80 interns from the same Harkness program she graduated from, while also working part-time for various crown and bridge labs. She eventually became a manager at Voss and was responsible for quality control, workflow and working with dentists on procedures for patients.

After 19 years at Voss, Santillo left to teach the Dental Lab program at Harkness, where she taught for 10 years. She also started her own removeable dental lab 25 years ago and is still working in the business, providing dentists with quality lab work. In 2006, she received the national “Excellence in Education” award for her teaching in the Dental Lab program from the National Association of Dental Laboratories.

Santillo moved from the Dental Lab classroom to her current role as a Work-Based Learning teacher 15 years ago. She enjoys connecting students to internship opportunities with businesses and colleges to help them be successful.

“During my internship, it was important to me that I was part of a company I would’ve liked to be employed at,” Santillo said. “You never know what opportunities may pop up, and I was grateful I ended up finding a career in the dental lab field. Now I enjoy being back at Harkness, helping students make the same decisions I made in finding their own career path like I found mine.”

Santillo has three children. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and boating.