CECILIA MARCONI

Cecilia is a woman with a true sense of adventure. She left her native Chile, worked in Spain and then immigrated to Canada. She studied English in the evening while working during the day. In Canada she married and now has three children. Cecilia's life has had its trials but she treats each difficulty with the same sense of adventure that brought her to Canada. She spoke with tremendous enthusiasm about learning and one could sense her innate curiosity. Cecilia also has a very resourceful approach to life: as we spoke she pulled her former texts, workbooks and certificates from an unused dishwasher sitting in the corner of her immaculate kitchen. "I always keep my books near by" she exclaimed with a laugh!

I trained as a cosmetologist in Chile and worked here in Canada for many years teaching hairdressing at a private college. When it closed down I worked elsewhere but the pay was very low. Going back to school really appealed to me, but I had no idea what level would be appropriate. At AVC they tested me and sent me to a program close to where I lived in Bowness. I needed to find a job soon! My husband was unemployed and we had three children. In four months I finished my level three at the Adult Learning Centre and entered SAIT. Six months later I graduated with a Certified Sterile Processing Aide diploma. Fortunately I found work right away.

This work requires you to assemble, sterilize and package instruments for operations. The heaviest ones are for knee and hip operations. It is very heavy work and especially hard on the shoulders and arms. The other disadvantage is the shift work -- one week of days, one week of evenings. This prevents me from taking my high school courses to get my grade twelve. The work is good for now but I'm not getting any younger and I must think of the future. Perhaps I can take correspondence courses. My future goal is to teach cosmetology in a Vocational School.

Choosing to go back to school as an adult was not easy. I already had 11 years of education in Chile and was a trained cosmetologist. The most difficult thing was the financial stress. The money had to be stretched. I learned some things from my mother in this area and cooked using lentils and beans instead of meat. It was cheap and healthy. I also sewed clothes for the children. To do this I had to organize my time. When I studied I sometimes drank a lot of coffee to keep working until one in the morning.

But going back to school as an adult has some advantages. You feel better about yourself. You feel motivated. You feel younger! BEAD gave me an opportunity to review the basics. It was free and close to my home. I loved the computer work. It was very motivating for my children to see their mother working so hard at school. I would say to them, If your mother can do this, you can do better!