Taking care of yourself is not always that easy. For Kayla, a graduate of the Dental Assisting program at 41 years old, she admits she spent a lot of years before she learned that taking care of herself – first – was going to be the best way to take care of those she loved in her life, especially her daughter.
Kayla has two children. Her son, Kyler who is 21, and her daughter, Umi is 15. She had always done “everything for my kids with a passion.” That included living in Las Vegas for 8 years after her difficult divorce to keep the kids around both their mother and father. She told herself she would never leave Las Vegas without her children. However, life became unbearable with mental illness and no family nearby. She struggled with depression and anxiety for 20+ years and had taken medication, but it had never been this bad. Kayla needed help. The first thing she did was find a psychiatric hospital in Las Vegas that would take her in and help her to find a way to manage her dark thoughts. She was properly diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and given the proper medicine. That’s when Kayla and her family say she became “Kayla 2.0.”
Her immediate family –parents, twin brother, sister and older brother who were spread around a few states – made a critical decision. They all got together in Las Vegas awaiting her discharge from the psychiatric hospital. They showed up with a U-Haul truck, packed her things and moved her to Arizona, to help her take care of herself. She says if her family had not intervened, she believes she would not be here today.
Once she was established, Kayla needed to find a new purpose. Even during an unexpected and very difficult custody battle that began after she arrived in Arizona, Kayla 2.0 prevailed and handled the situation with strength and grace. Finding the right therapeutic treatment was critical. That is when she found her therapist, Julie Kerley. Julie helped Kayla focus on getting a career that truly meant something to her. Because Kayla always showed such compassion for others, her therapist thought nursing was a good fit. But Kayla had another idea; all her life she had been infatuated with teeth! She was blessed with good teeth and always considered her teeth to be one of her greatest features. One thing she did for herself each year was to have a teeth cleaning on Valentine’s Day – a rare instance when she treated herself. What if she could do that very thing for others, even children? The therapist encouraged her to sign up for a tour at Carrington College in Mesa, and Kayla enrolled that day.
On the exact day of her one-year anniversary of moving to Arizona in April 2024, Kayla had her first day in her Dental Assisting program. She was scared and nervous because she hadn’t been to school in years. She had to make a big commitment to travel to class, plus trying to work outside of school. The available night classes made it a lot easier.
She then discovered she had another “family” at Carrington College. Mrs. Jent, Miss Williams, Jaclynn Yazzie and even Dean Cherry personally checked on her, encouraging her not to give up. They guided her, saying it would be hard and scary but once she had a routine it would be better. They were there for her if she needed anything. She felt they genuinely cared; it was real.
Kayla made the President’s list every term. During her time in the program they asked her to become a student mentor; as the oldest in her class, it gave her even more purpose to have these younger women gravitate to her for support. They asked her to be a speaker at commencement, where shared her story of struggle, dedication to herself, learning to accept change, and her success.
Someday, Kayla hopes to work for the special-needs clinic in the Mesa area. Her dream job is to be an instructor at Carrington College someday. In the meantime, she will keep learning as much as she can, looking into the Dental Hygiene program with Carrington College.
On graduation day, Kayla decorated her cap, much to the delight and affection of her classmates and teachers. It said, “It’s Never Too Late.” To change your life.
