Tom: My parents and I immigrated to Montreal from Czechoslovakia when I was sixteen years old. As Holocaust survivors, my parents had high hopes for me and my future. Getting accepted into McGill’s Faculty of Dentistry made their, and my, dream come true.
I started at McGill in the Faculty of Engineering but by second year, I realized engineering wasn’t for me, so I switched into mathematics, which I loved. I used that time to find a profession that would give me future independence as well as social fulfillment. I was thrilled to have chosen dentistry for those reasons, and many more.
I’ll never forget the day I got accepted into dental school. I had come home from work and my parents handed me a large envelope, which, of course, was my acceptance package. I will never forget the pride my father’s face showed. And I’ll always remember what he told me: “I don’t know where you’re going, my son, but never forget where you came from.” To this day, this still brings tears to my eyes, even though it was close to 50 years ago. I felt that same happiness and pride when my daughter Lesley also got accepted into McGill Dentistry.
Lesley: I always felt that I wanted to be connected to McGill at some point in my educational path. I liked knowing that my dad had gone there, but I also liked that it was a small program, which I felt was important in this field.
I didn’t always know I wanted to become a dentist, but I had known I was going to do something in the health sciences since I was young. I’ve always liked working with my hands and dentistry seemed to offer a nice mix of art and science.
Tom: I chose dentistry for many of the same reasons as Lesley did. Those boxes were checked by me as well. Obviously, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I, on the other hand, had no role model, no mentor, no one to guide me. I feel like the luckiest person, though, to have found this profession that was tailor-made for me. I pinch myself sometimes realizing how lucky I am. I have strong relationships with my patients - they make me feel like family and the dental work comes naturally to me. But I’m most fortunate to be working with my daughter because there is no bigger dream for a parent. It was quite a day when her name was added to the office door.
I spent nine years at McGill and although it was a long haul, I had time to mature there. I arrived as an immigrant two years before I entered McGill, not speaking English or French, so it was at McGill where I truly became a Canadian. In third and fourth year, I was also very fortunate to have had instructors who gave me opportunities to perform many additional procedures which led to a feeling of confidence when I graduated.
Lesley: I was always very proud to have gone to McGill. I met most of my current friends there, as well as my husband. I also very much appreciated the quality of instruction and dedication of the instructors, being able to participate in the outreach program, and the strong focus on dental accessibility.
Tom: When I taught in the McGill residency program at the Jewish General Hospital for 14 years, I gave my students the same advice that I had been taught and that was to always keep a high standard of ethics because it will serve you well. Once again, I am thoroughly grateful to McGill and the Faculty of Dentistry for the opportunity to live a very fulfilled life.