“I had no expectations for the future, that I would be a brilliant professional, that I would be here today!”
Overcoming adversity is a hallmark of Dr. Sirlene de Lima's life. A pharmacy graduate, she found in the postgraduate program in Aesthetic Pharmacy an opportunity to forge her path to success.
From a humble family, Dr. Sirlene did not find many opportunities to study. As a teenager she became involved with illicit substances, she says: “I had trouble with the law and ended up in prison. So for me, within society, the statistics were completely negative.”
Still inside prison, Dr. Sirlene began teaching other inmates and became more interested in education. There she took the Enem exam (Brazil's national college entrance exam) and was granted parole in 2013. But back in society, she found no job or study opportunities.
For Dr. Sirlene, the only alternative was informal work. That is how she found a job as a cleaner, but it was still not what she was looking for. After a while, talking to her sister, she learned about ProUni, a federal government program that grants scholarships at private universities.
“I applied and got a 100% scholarship, ranked eighth, in the pharmacy program. And then everything started moving. I finished my degree and soon after I got to know Nepuga.”
Aesthetic Pharmacy: a new opportunity
After completing her degree, Dr. Sirlene started her own business. She bought a drugstore in Santo André, SP, and even with the difficulties, she tried to keep going because she liked working with the public. After some time in that field, the specialist realized she was still not where she wanted to be.
“I saw that the drugstore was not for me, it was not what I wanted. I had also worked as a technician in a hospital. Even though I liked it, I felt the field I was in tied me down a lot, it did not give freedom. So I thought about aesthetics. It was what I wanted, but I did not have the money to get in.”
It was then that Dr. Sirlene posted on her social networks about wanting to study at Nepuga and her wishes were granted: she got a scholarship. “Through Suzane, from the Mulheres do Brasil program, I had the opportunity to get the scholarship for the specialization in Aesthetic Pharmacy. For me it is immense joy, because the market is very competitive, even more for a person with a background like mine. And today my dream has come true, I can work as an independent professional.”
Even though she had already been through the experience of starting a business in healthcare, when she owned a pharmacy, Dr. Sirlene points out that she still dreamed of having the freedom that many Aesthetic Pharmacy professionals have.
In a new attempt, she decided to give entrepreneurship a chance and go after what she wanted so much. Together with her postgraduate classmate, she formed a partnership and created Corpo e Beleza Estética Avançada, located in São Paulo – SP. Bouncing back, she celebrates, “Now we are going to crush it, because the sky is the limit.”
The postgraduate experience
The pursuit of a quality education has always been part of Dr. Sirlene's life. “ Education is very important, it is fundamental” and it was through it that she achieved a better reality, left prison and kept studying. And it was in pursuit of a good education and professional freedom that she found Nepuga/FAPUGA.
In 2015, she visited the institution and met Prof. Dr. Ana Carolina Puga, MSc. But the opportunity to do her postgraduate program only came in 2019, when she got the scholarship.
Even while still taking the specialization in Aesthetic Pharmacy, Dr. Sirlene also improved her skills in Facial Harmonization. “It is a wonderful field, growing in the job market. And I love injectables: PEIM, botulinum toxin, intradermotherapy… they are the procedures I most like to do!”
The excellent financial return was one of the reasons the specialist moved into Aesthetic Pharmacy, but everything changed when Dr. Sirlene began her studies. “It is something so wonderful, being able to help people, to help with people's self-esteem. I advise everyone to do it, and I even recommend the institution, because it is wonderful!”..
Dr. Sirlene's story also moved Prof. Dr. Ana Carolina Puga, MSc. For her, besides being motivating, journeys of overcoming are important to break down prejudice.
“Every student story I hear moves me. Everyone has their story, their difficulties, a struggle. And Sirlene's story is wonderful. Only she knows, only she felt prejudice firsthand. Society punishes instead of embracing and helping the person so they can reintegrate. That is what we did with Sirlene! My intention was always to help her, to make her feel included and not excluded. I am so happy she became part of the Nepuga family and had support in such a difficult moment!”.
Check out Dr. Sirlene de Lima's full story:
Sarah
NEPUGA content team — Núcleo de Especializações Ana Carolina Puga.
