In this interview, Alice Lai talks about her educational experiences, her career opportunities, and her involvement in the Chinese Presbyterian Church.
Alice immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong in 1968 at the age of 18 to pursue post-secondary studies in Montreal, Quebec. After a year, she moved to Toronto, Ontario where she studied Microbiology at the University of Toronto and eventually received a medical technology certificate. From there, she spent four more years in Medical school, with one year of internship.
In the interview, Alice shares memories of her life as a student, detailing her search for lodging and the many jobs she took on to support her education, which included positions as sewing machine operator, dress manufacturer, and hospital laboratory worker. When she completed her education, she spent some time under an associate doctor before opening her own practice.
Alice explains that she had few social networks in Canada when she first arrived, except a male classmate whom she later married in 1974. She describes aspects of her marriage and her roles with respect to the household and child-rearing. She talks about her immediate family’s involvement in the medical and Christian communities. Although she acknowledges a lack of connection with extended family and Hong Kong, she expresses the importance of retaining one’s culture.
She explains that she has had little experience of discrimination in Canada, attributing this to her involvement with the Church and her profession. She concludes by describing her appreciation of Canada, with its many ethno-cultural communities and the abundance of opportunities for those who are willing to work hard.
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