Karen Chinaleong-Brooks

Trinidad, and studied at the University of the West Indies in Port au Spain, Trinidad.

I chose to enrol in SFU’s graduate program in Health Sciences because I’ve always had an interest in public health. I’ve wanted to study in Vancouver because there is the same mix of cultural diversity here in Vancouver as in Trinidad.

My mother. She’s a single mom, but she did a very good job in raising me and my older sister. Although she was born with a deformity, she did not let that stop her in any way. She went on and became self-employed. She’s now already 75 but she’s also taking care of a 70-something person in our household.

I plan to work in the public health field in Canada for a few years to obtain some international experience. Then I hope to go back to Trinidad and offer what I’ve learnt abroad at home.

I had worked in a bank for 3 years, as a flight attendant for 15 years, as a dietetic technician for about 6 months, and then I came to SFU to study here.