Education

Her childhood suddenly vanished into thin air when she became the carer to her dying mother and a mother to her other two younger siblings at the same time. Nothing, however, could shake Marian’s strong belief in education. She strived to complete a couple of university degrees despite navigating thorny paths in her life. Now a wife and a mother of two, she is still determined to be a doctor, one day…

THE BEGINNING…

Caring and nursing for her mother at the age of 10 is a world too familiar to Marian. While most 10- year-old children are bathed in tenderness, love and care of their families, Marian was called upon at the age of 9 to look after her dying mother who was suffering from breast cancer. ‘She was a very strong woman. I have to say, I learnt a lot from her.’ Born in Egypt with two other brothers, Marian’s father was a medical doctor who was hardly home because he was working in Saudi Arabia. ‘Every year he would come home once a month.’

‘From that time on, my life has changed’

To keep up with the challenges of her mother’s health condition and the absence of her father, Marian had to exponentially grow both emotionally and practically, and at a very rapid pace. Not only did she look after her mother, but she also had to quickly adjust and learn to fulfil her mother’s role in caring for her brothers. Most 10-year-old children are reassured to come home to strong parents who provide them with cuddles, freshly cooked food, and bedtime stories… The familiar voice and steps of our parents around the house are like songs that reassure us that ‘all is well,’ explains Marian. For Marian, that world was alien to her. The storm of her mother’s cancer swept all that away from her life, too soon to say the least. After the surgery, her mother was in remission until Marian turned 11. However, it was devastating for Marian and family when, at the age of 12, her mother’s cancer came back again. Marian continued doing what she did best for her mother and her family.

‘I Always dreamed of becoming a medical doctor like my dad’

As a young child at the age of 7, Marian’s favourite drawings were a human skeleton, and her favourite toys were doctor’s instruments. ‘I dreamt of becoming a medical doctor like my dad.’ Marian’s year 12 studies were constantly disrupted because she had to accompany her mother to medical treatments. ‘I remember the day the doctor broke such bad news about my mother’s prognosis to me. This was heavy stuff for a Year 12 student. I thought I was fainting. So, I had to filter what to tell mum and how to say it because I wanted to keep her spirit high. It was very challenging to look after mum, to keep up with all her medical appointments and to sustain high performance at school to enter university while striving to keep the dream of becoming a doctor alive.’

‘I decided to get the best out of a bad situation’

Unfortunately, at the end of year 12, Marian did not get a high enough score to start medicine. ‘I tried to repeat Year 12, but I was told I would need to repeat Year 11 as well. ‘I decided to get the best out of a bad situation.’ Although she did not like accounting, Marian enrolled in a Bachelor of Accounting. After graduating, Marian did not look for work because she did not want to be an accountant at all, but wanted to have education as a starting point.

In her second-year university, her mother passed away. However, despite such a big loss, Marian got a high distinction in that year. ‘It was like a reward from God,’ she said. Though she was confused, lost, and grieving for her mother, she had to be strong for her two younger brothers who looked up to her and needed her. They are now both in the USA with their father; one is married pursuing a PhD.

ON MARRIAGE…

‘Thinking about Marriage’

After graduating, like most young women, Marian began thinking of getting married and travelling overseas to fulfil her dream of becoming a medical doctor. ‘In our culture, girls are not allowed to travel by themselves.’

Soon after she met her now husband, whom she fell in love with and has loved ever since, he had to travel to the USA for three years. Marian promised to wait for him and kept the promise despite growing family pressure to leave him and marry someone else. ‘Whoever is destined for you, will always be yours’. Her now husband came back after three years and they got married. Together, they have two beautiful children and share a long, wonderful love story together.

‘Husband was happy to go overseas’

They first travelled to the UK where Marian inquired how she could study medicine. Unfortunately, medicine was not open to her given her circumstances at the time. Upon returning to Egypt, Marian and her husband first applied for skilled migration to Australia, but Marian did not have the three years work experience in the accounting field as required. They then applied for permanent residency in Canada as skilled migrants, but unfortunately it did not work out after waiting for two years. At that time, her husband found out that Australia’s immigration policy for skilled migrants had changed. They were now in a better position to reapply successfully. Sadly, by then Marian’s International English Language Testing System (IELTS) results had expired. ‘I had young children and did not want to re-sit the IELTS because the first one was a struggle.’ Fortunately, the Australian embassy accepted Marian’s three-year old IELTS’s results, and they were able to successfully apply for a visa to Australia.

A LONG WALK TO UNIVERSITY

A few months after arriving in Australia, in January 2014, her husband encouraged Marian to explore studying. Despite being discouraged by some people who could only see obstacles to her dream, Marian did not want to give up, she pressed on. Marian approached both Monash and Melbourne universities, but she was told her degree had expired. It was seven years since she completed her studies. ‘I was told I will need to do another degree to be able to study medicine and this required redoing Year 12. I did just that because I was prepared to start again’. Marian completed Year 12 and was offered a place at Deakin university for a Bachelor of Biomedical Science. After enrolling, she found out that she was not eligible for the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS-HELP) as she was not yet an Australian citizen. She found out that if she wishes to undertake university studies, she will need to pay that from her own pocket.

BORROWING TO PAY UNIVERSITY FEES

In the first year of university, Marian managed to pay the fees by working and borrowing from friends. ‘My husband was very supportive and contributed to paying my fees’. Luckily for her, she received a no interest loan from the Coptic Orthodox Church Welfare Organisation, which assists migrants. Many other organisations could not help her because they did not offer loans for study. Marian obtained a high distinction at the end of the year! The result encouraged her to press on.

To prepare for the second year, ‘I worked as a cleaner in a school and saved enough money for the first semester fees.’ Marian took another loan from Coptic Orthodox Church Welfare Organisation to cover the second semester fees. For the third year, she got a paid work placement at the Hudson Institute. For the final year, she worked as a Peer Support Worker at Deakin university and saved to pay her fees. Marian graduated with High distinction! ‘Upon graduation I got a job in the clinical trial field. Unfortunately, it did not last very long. Now I work part time at the Chemist Warehouse.’

‘In a perfect world I would be an oncologist. I was inspired by watching my dad saving lives.
Although, I am not young anymore. I will keep trying.’

UNDYING PASSION TO BE A DOCTOR

Marian has previously sat the Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT). Despite not being successful, she still believes and is determined that she can do it. ‘Now I am preparing for the next attempt next year. I will continue studying’. It was not and still is not an easy journey, ‘I had to study, be a wife, a mother and work, all at the same time.’ A devout Orthodox, Marian attributes all that she has achieved to God. ‘However, the journey is not over,’ she said.

SHE VALUES EDUCATION

Marian encourages everyone around her, in her community and in her neighbourhood to study. ‘I believe education empowers women, particularly migrant women’. Marian encouraged her motherin-law to study English and other women to dream big because they can. ‘In a perfect world I would be an oncologist. I was inspired by watching my dad saving lives. Although, I am not young anymore. I will keep trying,’ she concludes with a smile.