The only way to do great work is to love what you do. Dr. Sharon Mendoza-Dreisbach lives by this statement.
Dr. Sharon started her career working in the tourism and hospitality industry. After working in an airline and hotel, she joined government services working in the tourism office. Eventually, she got invited to teach and became an HR practitioner at the same teaching.
She decided to work overseas in 2006. When Dr. Sharon arrived in the UAE, she was immediately got hired as a lecturer in a university in Ajman.
Presently, Dr. Sharon, a breast cancer survivor, works as an assistant professor at the prestigious Skyline University College at the University of Sharjah. As a professor, her main tasks cover three factors: teaching, research, and community services. In the institution, she shares her knowledge about human resources and public administration.
The greatest aspect of her teaching career is that she’s able to use her profession in advocacies for educating people about breast cancer and being a voice for women and children who are victims of domestic violence and physical assault.
She’s very passionate about community services that her counseling extends from her students to cancer patients and victims of domestic violence.
“When you are able to help someone, and you see them living a happy life, it is gratifying and fulfilling. My grandfather once told me that helping others and giving back to the community is a form of prayer,” she added.
Suppressing negative emotions
Dr. Sharon is a victim of domestic violence.
Her parents got separated when she was only months old. In the absence of her parents, her grandparents raised her with all the love and protection; however, when she started studying at the age of six, she was forced to live with her mother.
“She is narcissistic, and living with her was a trauma. I was physically assaulted at age nine and bullied at school because I didn’t know who my father was. Domestically abused during the marriage. I started to build anger, hatred, fear, and self-pity,” she said when asked to describe her life before.
It came to the point that she had a realization and thought: ‘Enough is enough.’
“I have to stand up and be strong for my sons,” she said.
Because of suppressing negative emotions for more than 40 years, she was unaware that she had started to awaken the most feared and dangerous cell in the body: cancer.
On her first diagnosis, her doctor put her a death sentence. She recalled being told to return to the Philippines and spend her remaining days with her family.
“Because I was not convinced with her, I decided to go for two more options in different hospitals and met with oncologists and a surgeon,” she added.
While being treated, Dr. Sharon reflected and realized that if there was one person who deserved forgiveness, it was herself.
“Self-forgiveness helped to eliminate and forget all the negative emotions and turned them into positive emotions,” she said.
She underwent all mastectomy surgery and all treatments in chemotherapy, radiation, and other medicines with positive emotions, self-love, self-compassion, and self-kindness.
In just a matter of eight months, Dr. Sharon was miraculously free of any harmful cancer.
She said she would continue doing her advocacies and touch more lives.
“My advice is from Whitney Houston’s song Greatest Love of All: ‘learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.’ When you fully love yourself, you will able to share to love, to give more, and to forgive those who hurt you,” Dr. Sharon said.
