Jennifer Aguayo, owner of Goldent Bilingual Professional Dental Assistant Program. Photo by Marco Flores, JEFAS Magazine.
By Karlha Velásquez
When asked how she manages her time, Jennifer Aguayo smiles and answers without hesitation: “I’ve learned to divide my life into three parts: mom, wife, and entrepreneur.” That three-part role drives a story that began 12 years ago, when she left home to seek new opportunities in the United States.
She couldn’t practice dentistry when she arrived from Mexico in 2013, so Aguayo built the next best thing: Nebraska’s first Spanish-language dental-assistant training school. Since launching Goldent in 2024, the program has trained 50 students, filling a gap in Omaha’s health care workforce, where Latinos make up about 15% of the population yet remain underrepresented among medical professionals. It also addresses a shortage of Spanish-speaking dental professionals, where language barriers often keep Latino residents from accessing quality care.
Omaha Latina Entrepreneur’s Journey from Mexico to Nebraska
Like many immigrants arriving in Omaha, Aguayo faced familiar hurdles: language and a lack of professional opportunities in her field.
With a dentistry degree in hand, she arrived in midwinter, newly married and with “less than basic” English. Her husband found work as a horse trainer in Bennington, Nebraska, but she couldn’t practice without a U.S. license.
“Omaha felt dark and isolated—it was mid-December. We lasted only through March,” she recalls. In April, they moved to Texas, hoping for better opportunities. There, Aguayo completed a Spanish-language dental assistant course. The job search proved difficult, and because of the high cost of living, the couple shared one phone. They decided to return to Omaha.
Back in Nebraska, Aguayo used public library computers to search for jobs and eventually secured a position as a dental assistant. “Dental vocabulary is often similar in Spanish and English,” she notes. She learned the more complex terms with support from colleagues.
By 2018, after working in dental offices across Omaha, Aguayo noticed a troubling pattern: the city’s growing Latino population had almost no access to Spanish-language dental assistant training. A conversation with a colleague pushed her to start Goldent, Omaha’s only dental assistant school with a Spanish curriculum.
Bridging Health Care Gaps for Omaha’s Latino Community
Aguayo knew she had the experience to train others. Within months, she secured a location, equipment, and students. When her business partner withdrew from the partnership, Aguayo faced a choice: give up or continue on her own.
With her husband’s emotional and financial support, she moved forward. She soon discovered that opening a school required more than enthusiasm; she needed permits, licenses, insurance, and compliance with a long list of regulations. “I had no idea how expensive it would be to run classes,” Aguayo admits.
After months of hurdles, she earned official approval to teach and issue certificates in December 2023.
“Being a business owner means working triple. It’s not 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; it’s being available 24/7,” she says.
Jennifer Aguayo, owner of Goldent Bilingual Professional Dental Assistant Program. Photo by Marco Flores, JEFAS Magazine.
Balancing Family, Business, and Latina Entrepreneurship
To enroll, applicants complete several steps: an interview, an application, payment, an agreement, and proof of a GED or high school diploma. Ensuring applicants meet those standards, while managing her household, requires the kind of discipline Aguayo says she inherited from her parents.
“If I’ve reached a goal, I ask myself: ‘What’s next?’ I work better under pressure,” she says. She also makes time to have an impact beyond her career.
In addition to running the school, Aguayo is part of NetaConnecta, a WhatsApp group that hosts meetups to strengthen Omaha’s Hispanic business network and share useful information. She also serves on boards including the Metropolitan Omaha Tobacco Action Coalition and the South Omaha Community Care Council, where she promotes health and community participation.
Online, she founded the podcast “Dentalmente Hablando” (“Speaking Dentally”), available on YouTube, where she covers oral-health topics in clear language. “I like to share practical information. People don’t always connect things like the impact of pregnancy on dental health. When they learn about it, they’re surprised,” she says.
Aguayo’s life is a daily puzzle. Between classes, meetings, and student interviews, there are school pickups for her two children and family time on weekends when her husband returns from driving trucks cross-country. “It’s a structured routine, but flexible,” she says. One of her personal escapes is the gym. “I love to exercise. It’s my space, my routine, a moment I enjoy.” Even with a full schedule, she works to keep that habit as a reminder of balance.
Expanding Goldent and Latino Health Leadership in Omaha
As she plans Goldent’s second location, Aguayo keeps dividing her life into three parts: mom, wife, and entrepreneur. Those roles increasingly converge around a single mission: weaving a support network for Omaha’s Latino community that didn’t exist when she arrived 12 years ago.
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