Dress for Success is pleased to welcome Santa Chow, a Dress for Success Vancouver client and success story, as one of four speakers at the Inaugural Success Luncheon on Wednesday, October 30th at The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
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Santa Chow - Dress for Success client
and success story |
As an
intelligent, fearless and strong-willed single mother of two, Santa Chow has the determination to succeed
that is nothing short of astounding.“I know I can achieve anything I dream of
because I have the will and the power,” she says.
Forty-six year old Santa immigrated to Canada in 1983
from Hong Kong and studied grade 13 in Toronto while her brother attended
university. From there, Santa relocated to Winnipeg to attend university herself, but while in Winnipeg she
contracted a rare lung disease doctors had never seen before. Santa spent a
year in hospital for treatment and even had part of her lung removed. "I almost
died from that incident."
Santa regained her strength and after several years returned
back to Hong Kong where she worked in the family business as the CEO and
controller of her father’s three factories. After four years, Santa left Hong
Kong once again and moved back to the Canada with her husband, a dentist she met
in Hong Kong.
Santa worked managing her husband’s business for 13
years when her life took a sharp turn. Her husband asked Santa for a divorce.
They had two children together, Tabitha and Sebastian. “When my husband left me
and the children, I lost my marriage and my job at the same time,” she says. “I
felt like I had nothing left.” Slipping deep into clinical depression, Santa went to
see her family doctor. He recommended taking anti-depression medication, but instead
Santa turned to natural medicine for healing and discovered running. Jogging for three hours every day, Santa produced
the much needed endorphins her body required to start feeling better.
Feeling strong and healthy and ready for a new
challenge, Santa joined the YWCA. No longer wanting to depend on a man, “I
wanted control over my fate and destiny and to take charge of my life.” Through
the YWCA, Santa rediscovered the direction she wanted her life to take and in
2005, she completed a full-time, female-only, six-month long program to become
a contractor and learned the skills of the trade. “I completed the course and
learned all the wiring, plumbing, carpentry, dry-walling, and tiling. I excelled
at all five subjects, but I really love carpentry. I made furniture for my
house; the bookshelves and my king-size bed. I made it all myself.”
From there, while juggling two part-time jobs and
raising her two children, Santa attended UBC and finished the psychology
degree she was unable to continue due to her illness in Winnipeg.
After she graduated from UBC and through a friend’s
recommendation, Santa was offered a job with FranchiseLink, Canada’s largest
network dedicated to helping consumers navigate franchise and business
opportunities.
When she secured a position with FranchiseLink, Santa
became part of the Dress for Success Professional Women’s Group (PWG). The 18-month PWG
program provides employed women with a network of support, practical
information and inspiration to achieve success in careers and in life. Through the PWG, Santa was
paired with a mentor, Kim Conroy, a chartered accountant and a career coach.
“She gives me advice, she looked at my resume and once a week she gives me
personal counseling.”
Since starting her job with FranchiseLink in December
2009, Santa has been promoted to Director of Asian Franchise Development. “I am
the bridge between two cultures, the Asian business market and the mainstream
North American market.”
Santa says that Dress for Success gives women the
encouragement to educate themselves, and by doing so, the ability to make their
lives and the lives of their children better.
“When we make changes for ourselves, it affects our
children too, it shapes their lives. Dress for Success gives us encouragement;
that even if we are alone, without a partner, we can do things on our own. We
can make an impact in the world.”
About Dress for Success Vancouver
Dress for Success Vancouver is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support, and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Since its inception in 1999, Dress for Success Vancouver has helped more than 17,000 women towards self-sufficiency.
Event Details
Get your tickets at www.dressforsuccess.org/vancouver
Enjoy a 3 course lunch and the opportunity to network with other prominent business contacts across all sectors.
All proceeds are in support of Dress for Success Vancouver!
