Resilience in Action: Keep Pushing Until You Make it Through
Lillyanne Vasquez started the training at UEI College in Riverside to learn Medical Assisting, but one struggle after another taught her an entirely different lesson–resilience.
Lillyanne said she has always been a good student and a hard worker but when she tore some ligaments in her ankle, she was forced to make some life changes. She underwent surgery and had to take a significant amount of time off work. Ultimately, she decided to move home to California to be closer to her family. It was there, just a few weeks after her first surgery, that she discovered UEI Riverside.
“I’ve wanted to be in the medical field for a while,” she said. “I figured this would open the door and just help me get started. I could go to school and further my education later. This was just a foot in the door. I went in just to look at the program and came home enrolled.”
A few months into the program, Lillyanne’s doctors confirmed her healing wasn’t going as well as they had expected. She would need another surgery.
“The pain was intense, and the recovery process was slow and emotionally exhausting,” she shared. “I wasn’t just dealing with physical pain—I was also fighting feelings of isolation, helplessness, and discouragement. There were days when I honestly didn’t know how I was going to keep going.”
Despite her pain, Lillyanne kept showing up.
“The most rewarding part of my education at UEI has been discovering my own strength and potential,” she said. “When I first started, I had doubts. I wondered if I’d be able to stay consistent, especially with everything life was throwing at me. But as I kept pushing forward, even through all the pain and struggle, I started to gain confidence in myself. Every time I passed a test, finished a project, or made it through another day despite everything stacked against me, I realized I was doing something bigger than just going to school—I was reclaiming control over my life.”
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As she neared the end of her program, Lillyanne got a new job and moved her class schedule to nighttime. That’s when she hit another roadblock. She was involved in a serious car accident that totaled her car. She was forced to ride the bus for two hours at night to make it to class. Just as she was preparing for her externship, she was told she needed another surgery.
“I was really discouraged,” she said. “They told me I had to have another surgery, and I was at risk of being permanently disabled if it didn’t work. I just wanted to drop. My advisor, she was amazing. She did not let me drop. She said ‘You’re too close to give up. You are hours away from being done.’”
Lillyanne’s advisor helped her find a new extern site that might work better with her injury and then continued to cheer until she finished.
“Being surrounded by instructors and classmates who believe in the power of second chances and growth has been a huge part of this journey,” Lillyanne said. “UEI provided not just an education, but a support system, and that has made all the difference. I’ve grown not only in knowledge and skills, but as a person. I’ve learned that I’m more capable, more driven, and more resilient than I ever thought possible.”
Lillyanne isn’t sure if she’ll pursue a career in the medical field, but even if she doesn’t, she’s proud of what she accomplished at UEI.
“Looking back, I’m proud of how far I’ve come,” she said. “I’m not where I want to be yet, but I’m on the right path. And the fact that I’ve been able to keep going despite so many setbacks, to me, is the most rewarding part of it all. I know that everything I’m working toward now is laying the foundation for a better future, and that makes every struggle worth it. Overall, it was a good experience. Once you start, see it through and don’t give up. Commit to it and just keep pushing yourself.”
