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Following in her father’s footstep
Following in her father’s footsteps
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Growing up, Reena Talwar’s father told her to always have a career. “Your job can be taken away, but not your career,” she recalls being told.
Reena’s dad, Jagmohan Singh Talwar, passed away six years ago and he didn’t get to see her open her own clinic – Contours Oral Surgery. But what he did get to celebrate was his daughter becoming the first fellowship certified female oral surgeon in Alberta.
In memory of her dad and his dedication to higher education, Reena is following in his footsteps and has set-up the Talwar Contours Oral Surgery Award endowment fund in his name. The $80,000 endowment fund will provide one second-year and third-year student - who is interested in pursuing oral surgery - with the Talwar Contours Oral Surgery Scholarship.
“My dad was a strong supporter of education,” she said. “His biggest drive in life was that everyone got a good education and my mom was always there to support him and our family.”
Reena’s dad was a trained electrical engineer in India, but when he immigrated to Canada in 1974 his degree didn’t transfer over. He began his education journey all over again, this time as a chartered public accountant. To help make ends meet, he worked as a security guard and studied for his CPA degree during the day. Her father would even house family members’ children, who had immigrated as students to Canada in their house. He would drive them to school until they became comfortable and confident in their new life.
Reena, an oral surgeon and clinical associate professor at the School of Dentistry says she has reached a point in her career where she felt she could follow in her dad’s footsteps and give back to students.
“For the longest time I was the only female oral surgeon in the province. I had no female mentors in oral surgery. I want to be that mentor to others, both female and male,” she says. “This award isn’t for the individual with the highest grades. It’s for the student who has the most passion and drive to want to learn to become an oral surgeon, and needs financial support.”
Reena says she wants to encourage students to get that chance to become an oral surgeon without having to think about the financial risk.
“I am providing that financial support. I don’t want students imagining they wanted to be an oral surgeon but didn’t have the funds to do an externship and know for certain that oral surgery is their vocation,” she says. “I was always self-motivated and self-driven, but I would have loved to have had a good female mentor in oral surgery to support my vision to become an oral surgeon.
“Having the right mentor support you when you need that extra confidence is key. I want to be that mentor for everyone, but particularly for that individual who may is passionate about oral surgery but lacks confidence.
“Having a female support saying you can balance and achieve everything within realistic expectations is priceless for the female students who are considering oral surgery as their specialty. I want them to know that they can have it all, but it may not look or feel the same as for others.”
Therefore, along with setting up the endowment she has taken her family’s philanthropy one-step further and made the first donation to Pathways to Dentistry – a student-led initiative that includes a bursary program to provide financial aid to marginalized populations in the amount of $20,000.
“This bursary is support for underprivileged high school students who are interested in pursuing dentistry and their future career, but may not have the financial means to do so. The opportunity to be able to give to this amazing cause landed on my doorstep and it was a perfect fit to everything me and my family believe in,” says Reena.
