Meet Ahmad!

Both Outagamie and Winnebago Counties have a shortage of dental providers, according to the National Health Services Corps. One of our students, Ahmad came to Fox Valley Literacy ready to make his passion a reality once more. Ahmad has a bachelor’s degree in general dentistry from Afghanistan and more than 4 years of dental experience. “I was living my dream, doing what I love working as a primary dentist, for which I had studied for over 6 years.”  He and his family made the difficult decision to leave their country and come to the United States at the beginning of last year. “It broke my heart leaving my country, family, and one of the things I love the most, being a dentist,” he says. 

Ahmad and his family moved to Appleton last February. He was determined to find a job in the dental field even if it meant starting from the beginning. He found a job as a dental assistant but his English skills were not enough. “The person who interviewed me was very nice to me. I guess she believed in me and gave me a chance,” he said. “She was going to give me the job if I improved my English in two months.” Ahmad came to Fox Valley Literacy shortly after describing the situation and the urgent short-term goal he needed to achieve, and we were up for the challenge! “I started right away with group classes. I was attending two group classes per week. After a couple of weeks, was when I met my wonderful tutor, Amy.”  Our students and tutors generally meet once a week, but because Ahmad had an urgent goal, they met twice a week or sometimes even more! 

After two months of hard work, Ahmad went back to apply again as a dental assistant, and he got the job! “I feel so thankful to my manager because she gave me the opportunity to show her what I can do. Fox Valley Literacy and my tutor also believed in me. They took this goal as if it was theirs.”  Ahmad’s journey is only starting. He is planning to continue studying next year and his English is improving every day! We are so happy for him and everything he has accomplished so far. Like Ahmad, many of our students combine discipline with passion and enhance their contributions to our community!