The road Kira Almazayen traveled before she attended Concorde Career College in Dallas was remarkable. No less impressive was her journey from acceptance at Concorde to graduating as an award-winning scholar.
Kira, a 2020 graduate of the Associate of Science in Dental Hygiene program, grew up in Kazakhstan, lived in Syria and had to adjust to life in the U.S. while improving her English.
She powered through those challenges while balancing her roles as a wife and mother.
“You have to think about the time commitment. I was studying all day, late at night and early in the morning,” she said. “But the result I have now, it’s worth it.”
Kazakhstan to Syria and America
Kira was born in Kazakhstan while it was still part of the former Soviet Union. She grew up speaking Russian and Kazakh, graduated from dental school and worked as a dentist while getting married and raising a family.
In 2004, she and her husband decided to move to Syria to be closer to his family. Kira learned Arabic and continued to work as a dentist there. But a civil war that began in 2011 forced millions from their homes, including Kira, her husband and their four children, who emigrated to the United States in 2014.
The U.S. offered Kira and her family safety and opportunity. But she needed to start over in the dental field, as her 20 years of experience as a dentist in Kazakhstan was not recognized by authorities here.
“They said I basically have to do my dental education over again,” Kira stated.
Re-starting Education, and Career
She found work as a dental assistant but was more interested in becoming a dental hygienist.
“People I worked with recommended Concorde,” Kira said.
Kira struggled on her first exam but was determined to push through the program. In Kazakhstan, she explains, many exams at her dental school were administered orally or as essays rather than in multiple-choice format. “You have a chance then to explain your point of view. But you can’t argue with a computer.”
“Everyone was so friendly,” Kira says. “7:00, 8:00 at night they were on the phone helping me. I was a person who needed help, and I got help.”
After graduating in July 2020, Kira took her board exams—an eight-hour multiple choice test, the same type of test that initially confused her. She received the highest possible score on the exam.
In addition, Concorde faculty voted unanimously to make Kira the recipient of the 2020 Concorde Clinical Excellence Award. The award goes to the student who best embodies the Concorde Core Values: teamwork, respect for the individual, achievement, integrity and customer service.
Kira becomes emotional remembering the way her Concorde family stepped up to help her excel in her program. “When you have people who support you, trust you, believe in your power, they push you forward,” she said.
