2013 Champion - Jennifer Ramphal

Champion takes a winding road to dream job

Sometimes the path to your goals is a bit of a winding road.

Jennifer Ramphal followed up high school by going to college, to complete a Registered Practical Nursing diploma. She didn’t have the marks necessary for her preferred field of study, and with her mother strongly suggesting nursing, she grudgingly went.

When Jennifer completed the program, she went to work, but not as a nurse. She did not keep up her nursing registration and was later injured on the job.

For Jennifer, this was an opportunity -- not a setback. With a financial settlement due to the injury, the Brantford resident decided it was a good time to enter Dental Hygiene, her original field of choice. Although she did not originally have high enough marks, the success she had in her nursing program allowed her to qualify.

Jennifer started an 18-month dental hygiene diploma program at the Ontario Dental Education Institute and was on the way to her dream career. But this new path included a few twists. When she started the program, Jennifer thought her nursing background would give her an advantage in dental hygiene. She quickly realized that wasn’t the case, and struggled to keep her grades up.

Added to that was the responsibility of raising a young child, and finding out she was expecting a second child. The school and her husband were strong supports, and Jennifer worked hard to follow through with her goals this time. Despite failing one semester, Jennifer completed the program in July 2012, and is now a registered Dental Hygienist in Ontario.

Now that she’s on the path, she plans to continue, furthering her studies through a distance-education Dental Hygiene degree program, offered by the University of British Columbia.

Jennifer is glad she had the opportunity to follow her dream and finish the program she really wanted to. “This education has made my dreams come true and will help create a better life for my family.” 

Story by Rob Rombouts

Photo by Blackbird Photography