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New Canadian on path to fulfill calling
Posted: August 29, 2011At times, over the last seven years Dr. Adriana Guillen despaired in her new life in Canada. She and her husband, Armando, left Mexico City in 2004 because they wanted more security and a better life for their two children.
The kids are happy and Adriana is happy to see them enrolled in a French immersion school. But what surprised Adriana were the difficulties she had settling into her new life.
A practicing dentist in Mexico City, Adriana didn’t speak English and couldn’t find childcare in her first Canadian home in Waterloo, Ontario. Opportunities to become a dentist were limited as each year only a handful of candidates out of many were selected to study for Canadian credentials.
“We had to struggle financially and I felt I had no hope of ever working in my field again,” she recalls. “I wasn’t prepared for the cold and the isolation of being a stay-at-home mom. I lost hope and I wanted to go back to Mexico.”
Then in 2007 the family moved to Calgary to be closer to a recently arrived relative. Armando got a job in his field and they bought a house. Adriana saw another vision of Canada.
“We had started all over again and I needed to do something,” she says. She took survival jobs to help finance her studies to become a dental assistant. She received her qualifications and to her dismay, she didn’t like the job.
Meanwhile, the rules to qualify as a dentist in Canada had become less onerous. It would take two years of study, some of it away from her family; several demanding exams; and substantial financial outlay to accomplish. Adriana was determined to try.
“I was not happy professionally,” she says. “I couldn’t live knowing that I hadn’t even tried.” Initially, Adriana continued working. But her studies were too demanding. That’s when she found out about IAF and applied for a loan.
“I could not have undertaken this process without the loan,” she says. “Now I have a chance to work as a dentist. It is my calling.” Adriana hopes to work with new Canadians, especially the Latin community.
“They don’t speak the language and they will need a dentist who can understand them. And I can offer lower prices so people without insurance can afford the proper care,” she says.
“I want this loan to make a difference not just to my family, but to have an impact on the health of many people.”
