Sandra Diaz February 11th recording
Sandra Patricia Diaz was born in Bogota, Colombia in South America and
immigrated to the United States, arriving on October 21, 1999 at Miami,
Florida with her two daughters, Laura 4 and Mariana 5.She did not know any English and did not have any family here in the USA. She had hoped that because of its Latino population the future there was going to be easy. Sandra now has three children: 14 year old son, Juan Sebastian Rodriguez, and two daughters, Laura Camila 27 and Mariana 25.
She applied for political asylum, but in the process a paralegal stole her money. Life in the United States suddenly became very hard , and it was difficult to achieve the American Dream. Finally she found an honest attorney to take her case. Immigration is a struggle in this or any other foreign country. Her official interview was a disaster according to the interpreter but her attorney was very confident about Sandra’s case. Two weeks latter she received a phone call from the USICS (Immigration Department) and they said, “WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES.”
To provide for her daughters and herself, Sandra started working at a fast-food restaurant and attended Miami Dade Community College and Miami Technical Institute.
Sandra moved to North Carolina in March, 2003 and worked as a Nursing Assistant/Interpreter. As she was trying to establish everything for her daughters here, some of her husband’s co-workers recommended Dr. Herbert McNeal as a dentist. As it turned out, every time that Sandra brought her daughters for a dental appointments there was someone who needed translation help. Dr. McNeal soon opened the door for her to work with him.
Sandra took classes at Alamance Community College and Guilford County Community College and started working in his office in January, 2004 as a Dental Assistant I, then Dental Assistant II, and National Certified Dental Assistant.
Subsequently, she earned Collecting Accounts Receivable Certification from Rockhurst University Of Continuing Education Center and followed with studies in Dental Coding and Billing Strategies at Work , CPR Certification, OSHA, and Infection Control Certification. In 2021 Sandra studied at the Foundation of Professional Interpretation for Human and
Health Service at UNC Greensboro Center for North Carolina. Sandra is currently seeking an associates degree in business at Rockingham Community College.