Marion Nadal ’13 credits Gulliver for helping her become the woman she is today. She recently achieved her lifelong dream of opening her own dental office. She says her proudest moment, however, was becoming a mother last year. This new role has given her a fresh perspective on the sacrifices her parents made to provide her with a better life in the United States. She is committed to giving her child the same opportunities she had, including a Gulliver education. Read more on her career path and how she remains involved with the Gulliver community.
What are you up to these days?
As a new mom, I just recently acquired my private practice, achieving my lifelong dream of having my own dental office. I am managing being a present mom, and now a practice owner which has not been without its challenges. However, I am finally at a place where I feel so grateful as all of my 10 year goals have come to fruition. I married the love of my life, we welcomed our first born last summer, and this summer I took over a retiring dentist who has been serving the community for the past 33 years. Continuing his legacy, and taking on this challenge has been a lifelong dream of mine and being able to do so back at home is just extra special.
What inspired you to pursue your current career, and how has your path evolved along the way?
As an immigrant to this country, my parents have always pushed me to pursue a career in healthcare. At first, I was expected to become a medical doctor but as I graduated from Gulliver and went on to college, started volunteering at Mount Sinai hospital in Miami Beach, following many specialties from oncology to urology, I quickly realized that having someone’s life in my hands was not for me. I did not like the hidden aspect of medicine where more often than not, doctors are diagnosing life-changing conditions. I did not want to be the one, telling my patients: “You have cancer.” As a result, I redirected to dentistry. I always wanted to help patients but the true side of dentistry that made me fall in love with the profession is the hands-on aspect. Us dentists can help patients not only with our diagnoses, but most of the time, with our hand skills. I truly found that dentistry—as much as people love to hate us—was a very rewarding career in the sense that I can help my patients everyday, by either improving their smile, restoring their oral health, or simply fixing their problems on the spot. It’s still part of the medical field as our oral health has a direct impact on our overall health, and yet it is not very often life-threatening.
Was there something you learned at Gulliver—inside or outside the classroom—that’s made an impact on your life?
Gulliver had a huge impact on helping me become a responsible and academically driven young woman. Gulliver taught me the basics of adulthood: hard work will pay off, being ethical is crucial, and no matter how hard something may seem, with dedication you can prevail. All of these Gulliver core lessons helped me become the woman I am today. As a young Gulliver grad, I was able to set myself up for success. I always knew I was going to pursue higher education and as such, I decided to stay close to home and attend FIU Honors College for undergrad. Throughout my college career, I kept thinking “wow, this is not bad. Thank you Gulliver” because I was used to the course load and had taken AP classes at Gulliver. When it was time to apply to dental school, that’s when I knew I had to go big or go home and I applied to 12 schools, and got accepted into almost all of them but most importantly got accepted into my dream school: University of Pennsylvania, School of Dental Medicine. Finally, my hard work which was started from Gulliver was going to pay off.
Are there any Gulliver teachers or coaches you credit as having positively influenced you?
To be honest, the whole Gulliver family helped me but Mrs. Jan Patterson, my french teacher, was a major influence and guide throughout my career at Gulliver. She understood me like no other at the time, and she always tried to guide me through my transition from the French to the American educational system. Whenever I had questions or would feel lost because of how different my new school life was, she would help me and guide me to get the help I needed with my guidance counselor or even other teachers at Gulliver. Mrs. Gerri Barreras also had an impact on me with her tough love. She taught me that details matter. She helped me give myself higher standards, and to never settle because she saw my potential. These two women will forever have an important place in my heart.
What is one of your favorite memories from your time at Gulliver Prep?
To be honest, this may be silly but Junior prom and senior prank day were two of my favorite moments at Gulliver. As a french expat, I found a large number of my french friends happen to be in the class above me, the class of 2012. So Junior prom is a very special memory since I was able to go to Prom with all my senior friends, making it the most special night. As a result, I do not even remember my senior prom since Junior Prom was so iconic. To this day, a lot of people who were at Gulliver when I was still there think I was part of the class of 2012 because I mostly hung out with french girls from that class.
What has been one of your proudest moments?
Becoming a mom. As simple as it sounds… My whole life I thought my career and academic achievements were my proudest moments, especially after graduating from an Ivy League dental school. But last summer, when I became a mom, all of that changed. My whole life I never truly understood or valued all of the sacrifices my parents made for me. When I became a mom, my eyes finally opened. My parents came to this country for me and my sister, to give us a better future and after having my son, I finally understood that on a deeper level. My parents always asked me where I wanted to go to school, they could have sent me to public school like many parents do and yet they did not because I loved going to Gulliver. Every year they would ask me, “are you happy at Gulliver or do you want to go to another school?” and now I understand how lucky I was to be able to choose for myself. As my son grows, I thrive to give him the same opportunities his grandparents gave me, and hopefully would love for him to attend Gulliver Prep and even UPenn to follow in my footsteps, even if that means making sacrifices on my end.
As a Gulliver alum, what advice would you give to current students?
Trust the process. Challenge yourself. Use Gulliver as your training ground for college and even, the real world. My biggest regret in life is not using the resources I was given back then, to their fullest. Be curious and most importantly, stop worrying so much. Everything will work out. Being part of the Gulliver community is a privilege and so many students don’t realize this. Not only in terms of the quality of education you receive, but also the connections to a variety of people, coming from so many different backgrounds with so many interesting life stories. Learn from each other, and stay in touch with them because what I have discovered lately, by reconnecting with my friend Cleore Beauvarlet (Class of 2012), is that no matter what, us Gulliver kids, we are community leaders and we will run into each other at some point in the future. The Gulliver Family is a small.
What clubs, sports, or extracurriculars were you involved in at Gulliver Prep, and how did they influence you?
I dabbled in a little bit of everything. I tried out for the cheerleaders because it was a corny dream of mine coming from France, where cheerleaders were only in movies. That did not last, but then I started volunteering in various clubs and exploring the french clubs and honor societies of Gulliver. National Honor Society taught me that academic excellence is not only for nerds, but also for people who value greatness all around.
What’s something about you that most of your classmates might be surprised to learn?
Most of my classmates might be surprised to learn that I lived in another country for most of my life and, when I came to Gulliver, I was quiet because I did not speak much English. Being an introvert at heart, it was hard to break out of my shell and tell them that I only spoke French and had never known I would be moving from my home country, until about two months prior. I also realized that America is truly a melting pot of cultures, especially in Miami. That completely changed the way I see things—especially how people live and think differently depending on where they’re from. From learning new cuisines, to types of music, I morphed from a very french girl who had never even heard of platanitos, to an arepa lover who listens to reggaeton 24/7 in my personal time.
How do you stay connected with fellow Gulliver Prep alumni or the school community?
In dental school, I had an academic advisor review my resume and casually tell me to remove Gulliver from my academics. I was so offended and right off the bat, told her: “Absolutely not. You don’t understand what it means back home.” Call me crazy, but from that moment on, even though I was living in Philadelphia, I realized that the minute I would move back home to Miami I would need to reconnect with my high school community. As I moved back home, I started to try to get in touch with the Gulliver alumni community to get involved finally. My 10 year school reunion had just passed and I decided I needed to somehow get involved. I am now trying to have more involvement with my dental office, Dental Hauss and sponsor events at Gulliver to promote dental hygiene, oral health, and become a sponsor within the community I grew up, and the community I finally was able to come back to.
