Talent and a lot of study led to professional advancement at Unicamp
Maria Ester Januário, current director of the Nutrition Service at Hospital da Mulher José Aristodemo Pinotti (Caism), joined Unicamp as a kitchen maid in 1986, after being the only young woman to receive a “no” from a recruiter in a selection interview for nursing assistant vacancy. Her goal at that time was to be a nurse, but she decided to go through another door. “Even though I competed with colleagues who had just graduated with me from the Senac nursing attendant course, the interviewer said I had no practice and approved everyone else. She was desperate. I burst into tears and sadness and, moved, the mother of a boyfriend at the time, mentioned the incident to a professor at another University where she worked. Imagine, this professor was working at Caism at that time and encouraged me to try to enter another area! I went back and got the job as a kitchen maid, through a competition. This opportunity was an immense joy, after all, my goal was always a better job.”
Yes, a better job, out of necessity, was Ester's saga when she moved from Araraquara to Campinas, in 1984, leaving her father, now a retired civil servant, her mother, a housewife, and four brothers at home. As barriers serve to drive tireless and determined bodies, in the mid-1980s, Ester preferred to swallow the tears not only in her first attempt to join Caism, but in all the difficulties in the intense rush for employment.
Ester's place was reserved at Caism, if not in the profession of nurse, in the career of nutritionist, which does not take her away from the vocation of caring. She is proud of the opportunities she embraced until she became director in 2015. Among several unsuccessful attempts for jobs at factory doors and agencies, the opportunity to work as a caregiver for a woman sparked her desire to be a nurse. That's why she enrolled in the Senac course.
Along the way, the nutritionist had the opportunity to work in her first area of training, nursing, but she already had a “serious relationship” with nutrition. With patience, talent and lots of studies, she embraced every opportunity for advancement. She became a nutritionist's assistant, held a sector supervisor position and when she reached the position of nutrition technician, she looked for a university where she could combine work and study. She attended the Methodist University of Piracicaba in the morning and worked in the afternoon. “After finishing college in 1996, again luck or destiny, I managed to get a position as a nutritionist in the same place where I was hired as a kitchen maid. I feel honored and gratified by the opportunities.” In 2007, with young children, I dedicated myself on the weekends to postgraduate studies in Clinical Nutrition at Universidade Gama Filho.
Food
Today Ester is proud to participate in projects designed to promote the best nutritional care for Caism patients. In the area of oncology, where she worked for a long period, she dedicated herself to nutritional care in all phases of oncological treatment and palliative care. In this area, the nutritionist participates in various projects, training, courses and conferences. One of the protocols she is proud of, as a member of the hospital's Multidisciplinary Nutritional Therapy Team, is 'Fasting Abbreviation for Oncology Surgical Patients'.
In addition to working in several nutritional re-education programs, Ester collaborated in the preparation of the National Consensus on Oncological Nutrition of the National Cancer Institute (Inca), in 2009, and in other projects involving nutrition and oncology. “In our nutrition service, we also developed sachets of aromatic herbs to accompany meals for patients with difficulty in taste, inappetence and with restricted sodium in their diet. This was done within a very low cost project. These initiatives always leave us motivated,” she adds.
For Caism employees, Ester and a friend set up the Losing to Win program. “It was a magnificent experience, with significant results in every way.”
Props
Every truth and fantasy plot needs good props. Thus, in the search for “a better life”, Ester also found herself in the fight against racism and in music. First queen of the City Banda carnival block, she stands out among traditional characters of the Campinas carnival, currently as president of the Tomá na Banda block. “It’s been 32 years of pure joy and fun, and I feel honored to continue this tradition.”
At the Black Zumbi Community Festival (Feconezu), which every November brought together all entities of the black movement to exchange experiences and publicize work, he came into contact with the city's artistic and cultural class. “Today, it is a great privilege to meet people of such cultural richness and who have awakened in me all my artistic sensitivity and musical taste, ranging from Itamar Assunção, Luiz Melodia, Raul Seixas to a lot of roots samba.”
Ester seasoned her story with scents and glitter. After all, says the poet composer: “Do not despair. When life hurts, it hurts. And no magician will interfere. If life hurts with the feeling of shine, suddenly, we will shine.”
