Jane Ji Young Lee

Jane Ji Young Lee was  just 14 when she immigrated from South Korea to the U.S., where she first had to overcome the language barrier before becoming a teacher and then switching careers to find her true passion as a cosmetic ceramist for daVinci Dental Studio in West Lakes, Calif.

“It was really hard for me. I didn’t speak English,” said Jane of her teenage years. She went to college where she studied child development and became a kindergarten teacher for nine years, but a career in the classroom didn’t suit her. Jane decided to make a change after she saw an ad for a dental lab technology school in the newspaper.

“I saw the ad and I thought it looked really interesting,” Jane said.

Though the Orange County school she attended no longer exists, Jane has thrived in her career and attributes her success to being able to work with such highly skilled mentors as Craig Galbraith, manager at daVinci.

“He’s top at matching. I still work with him,” she said. “He teaches me to get better all the time.”

Jane enjoys the artistic aspects of her job, bettering people’s lives by helping improve their smiles, and enjoys rising to the challenge of continuing to learn to stay on top of new trends, materials and technology.

“You’ve got to study, take all the courses you can, and try new porcelains,” she said.

There is no limit to where her knowledge can take her.

“This is not the end. I can always learn more and do more,” she said.