When describing Sophy Elfiky, the age-old question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, morphs into which came first, the dental hygienist or the university professor with a masters in education.

The dental hygienist came first.

The daughter of a doctor, Elfiky didn’t choose to follow in her dad’s footsteps like her younger sister did.

“I always wanted to be anything in health care… but not with the responsibility of medicine,” she explains.

After receiving a diploma in dental hygiene from Grant MacEwan College, Elfiky transferred to the University of Alberta for a science degree. She worked as a dental hygienist at a private clinic and decided to take her masters in adult education. Now, she combines all these disciplines to teach in a dental hygiene practical clinic at the university, while still working as a hygienist in a private practice.

She is often younger than her students, and she focuses on implementing a lot of interactivity in her classes to increase participation. Elfiky works three days a week at the university and then two in a clinical setting.

“I teach the ideal… and then go in to the practice and try to do that.”

The sleekly dressed 27-year-old says that after all that schooling she has to do a lot of catching up on life. Elfiky admits she doesn’t know anything about fashion and relies on her friends to tell her what the new styles are. She even joined a craft club because she didn’t do anything artsy and thought she needed to learn something other than science.

“I was going fast and didn’t have time to sit back and review. I’m very scientific, I’m not very artistic.”

As for her future plans, Elfiky hopes to sail the course she’s set for some time. “I’ve done a lot already. I want to enjoy it for a bit. I hope to always (practice in dentistry). I’m still developing my skills.”