Denise came from a family of eight children who moved a lot. She finished school in Moncton with a modified studies diploma. She is a lady who serves to give courage to others who wish to improve their situation. She tells us her path to her current cooking position at the George F. Dumont Hospital.

Our family did not have the chance to educate itself because my mother depended on social assistance for herself and her 8 children. We therefore moved often. I believe I attended 10 schools during the course of my studies. Sometimes a French school, sometimes an English school. At the end of the 6th grade, my teacher put me in the modified classes because I could no longer speak and write French correctly. I finished in Moncton with a modified studies diploma.

I entered the job market as a waitress, and later on as an employee of a senior citizen’s home in Saint-Antoine. It’s there that I became aware of the adult literacy class. It was located in the basement of the home. Since I had difficulty writing, I approached the teacher, who recommended that I attend classes in between my shifts.

The courses for cook and hairdresser interested me. However, with a family of two children, my husband and I could not afford such an expense. I was refused help from Employment Insurance at that moment.

During this time, I was making progress in my schooling at the literacy class, but also I was building my self-esteem. In 1997, the Community College invited me to write an admission’s test. My determination allowed my to pass that test, and I returned to the EI Center who agreed to help me this time. I was determined to become a cook and go work in a hospital. My salary of $6.15 per hour did not satisfy me any longer.

In the middle of my cook’s course, I was already looking to the hospital for a position. In June 1999, they accepted me for a training period, and I’ve been there ever since. I make double the salary now and even more.

I would like to praise the literacy courses that gave me confidence in myself. I attended them until 1997. I passed my course with flying colors, and I even received many awards and certificates of merit during culinary competitions. I discovered that I too was able to accomplish many things.