Dentist Goes Back to School to Learn the Business Side: Angélica Farfan on Finding the Spanish BBA

Following her move from Mexico to the United States, Mexico City-trained dentist Angélica Farfan began to rebuild her career without a local dental credential. Fortunately, she discovered a door intended for her to walk through—a Spanish-language Bachelor of Business Administration degree at Empire State University.

Farfan experienced a harsh reality that many foreign professionals face when she relocated to the United States—credentialing barriers to employment and education. For many, studies completed outside the U.S. are not recognized upon entry to the country—often, they find themselves back at square one where their academic and professional careers are concerned.

Credential verifications pose barriers—they are not free of cost, incur translation expenses for those whose documents are not in English, and often involve long waits. For those with medical credentials, verifications are even more complex. However, not having them done has been known to land many highly skilled professionals who migrate to the U.S. in positions of underemployment. Without verification, years of specialized training can mean little in a new country, but not everyone can afford to undergo the verification process while going without a paycheck.

Farfan—who was top of her class in dentistry school and subsequently headed two private practices in Mexico City—ran into this roadblock. She had to figure out how to reframe her career.

Born and raised in Iztapalapa, a borough of Mexico City, Farfan felt called to the medical field at an early age. “I truly love my profession,” she says, noting that she decided to become a dentist at the young age of 13. “There were many obstacles in my way, but never anything that could stop me from pursuing my path,” she adds. Ever driven, she believes in making the most of the opportunities one has access to.

Her desire to contribute to the well-being of patients motivated her to pursue a degree in dentistry at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). By the time she finished the program, she had earned the Gabino Barreda Medal for the best GPA of her graduating class. At UNAM, she also studied orthodontics, though she was unable to formally specialize in it at the time due to financial barriers.

Eventually, Farfan and her family made the decision to move abroad to the U.S. “The first year, I dedicated myself to studying English so I could work,” she explains. It wasn’t until her second year in the country that she was employed as part of a team hired by dental clinics to provide orthodontic services. Still, Farfan couldn’t help but feel held back— “Since I don’t have a dentistry or orthodontics degree that counts here, I don’t earn what a credentialed orthodontist earns,” she points out.

In her journey to learn English, a language school advised Farfan to pursue her GED. The thought of it felt like backpedaling—she already had college credentials, so she was hesitant. “They said it would help with my English, so I enrolled in the classes … I wasn’t interested in the GED itself; my goal was something else,” she explains.

An avid reader, Farfan typically visited the library to borrow books twice a week. It was on one of these outings that she came across an advertisement in La Voz, which announced the launch of SUNY Empire’s Spanish BBA.

“I feel really proud of my language. I’d love to speak English at the same level I speak Spanish, but I haven’t managed to yet. When I saw the announcement for a bachelor’s degree entirely in Spanish, I said, “That’s me!” What did they ask for? The GED. I had it, so I started,” she says. Propelled by the encouragement of her husband and daughter, Farfan wasted no time in applying.

Embarking on this academic journey posed a pivot in Farfan’s career—one that she was glad to make. She approached this change with enthusiasm: “A lot of people have asked me why I’m studying business administration when I’m a dentist,” Farfan laughs, “Because I already know dentistry—I need to learn administration! I’m very excited about the opportunity to go back to school.”

The Spanish BBA was designed for learners like Farfan, who are in search of a door to empowerment and economic mobility that honors the preference to learn how they do best: in their native language. To the dentist, language matters. “I could have done it in English,” she asserts. “I’ve done many things in English. It’s never been a matter of language stopping me. What [this program] gives you is comfort—knowing that you understand word for word, and being able to clearly express what you think.”

Farfan has experienced the program thus far as a growth opportunity, learning to navigate online learning, finding motivation in challenging courses, and realizing that the concepts taught by her professors are as applicable to daily life as they are in the world of business. “It’s changing my perspective a lot,” she comments. Looking beyond, she recognizes how significant a program like this is on a larger scale: “Thank you for thinking of Latinos, so we can continue growing professionally,” she says.