Let's Meet Renee Labriola

Why did you decide to teach at the Mike Petryk School of Dentistry?

Patient education is my favourite part of dental hygiene and what I am most passionate about- so why not get involved with educating the future professionals for a much greater impact?

What do you like best about the school?

Being a top school for dental hygiene and dentistry inspires tremendous pride. The students are top tier, have met a high benchmark to be there, and generally have a seriousness towards their career that makes educating them most rewarding.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background.

I am a wife to a wonderful husband, and mother to two active boys, aged 6 and 4, the latter of whom is a three-year brain cancer survivor. I have become an ambassador for the Ronald McDonald House of Alberta and have done many speaking engagements on behalf of my son. We are a family that loves to laugh and play sports, and having been through great hardship, we've come to appreciate the simple joys in life.

What are three words to describe you?

Empathetic, funny, curious

What are your hobbies and passions?

Tennis, golf, piano, baking (and subsequent eating of) pastry.

Do you have any pets?

Just puppy nephew for now!

What is your favourite song at the moment?

Billy Joel - New York State of Mind

What would you title your biography?

"Well That's Never Happened Before" 

What is your favourite travel story?

Just one quick story- in Rome on my honeymoon we went back to the same gelateria each day (sometimes twice-a-day) because it had the world's greatest Nutella gelato. On the last day of the trip I asked how on earth they got the Nutella gelato to taste exactly like Nutella and their reply was "it's just cold Nutella". I had eaten the equivalent of 3 tubs of pure Nutella.