A day in their scrubs

When second-year dental hygiene student Kelsey Mahoney isn’t coaching patients in the clinic, you can find her courtside.

Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas

Undergrad institution: The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Dental hygiene school survival strategy: If you get too far ahead of yourself it’s not going to be beneficial for you or the people around you. Always take one day to do something for yourself and not be so wrapped up in school, otherwise you’re going to go crazy. Just go get your nails done, go shopping. That’s extra girly, but just do something extracurricular, so you’re not at home stressing about school.

Most productive time of day: During the weekdays, definitely from 6 to 8 at night. I get home, make dinner, and I can get moving on stuff. On the weekends, 10 to 1 is normally when I can get things done. During the week that time is taken up by class or clinic.

Best way to unwind after a long day in lecture, lab or clinic: I’ll cook myself a pretty good meal, or I’ll just pop popcorn and sit on my couch and watch Netflix. Those are complete opposites, but it just kind of depends. Is it a popcorn day or “let’s make a steak” night? I pop the popcorn in the Stir Crazy. My mom always made it when I was a kid. It’s a comfort.

Favorite energy food: If I come home and need to study I eat fruit. I go through two pineapples a week.

Goal after graduation: I definitely want to stay in Texas. I hope to make a difference in patients’ lives; if there is anything they need, just to be a sounding board for them and point them in the right direction.

What people may not know about you: We’re a volleyball family. I played at Tennessee, and my sister plays at Texas State University. My mom played, and my sister and I got into it. We played at the same club, Texas Advantage Volleyball, in Carrollton.

I coach there now one night a week and usually on Sundays. Last year I coached a metroplex team that stays in the area for three months with tournaments on the weekends. The year before that I coached a more advanced team, and we went to national qualifiers.

I grew up playing there, ever since I was 12. So there’s a family aspect, too.