One current apprentice, Lilly Lee, shares her journey below, recounting how this experience equipped her with practical skills and restored her confidence, transforming her outlook on career and education. Her story illustrates the power of apprenticeships, the impact of a supportive community, and the essential role these programs play in developing a skilled, compassionate workforce. We are so lucky to have Lilly as part of our program and we are certain you will be inspired by her experience.

Let me preface this by saying that I didn’t even want to go back to school. I was 25, and decided to move back to California to start over, after having a midlife crisis. Going back to school was an idea that I considered here and there, but every time I replayed the process and experience of school in my mind, I retreated. I was convinced that due to my age and my many life failures, it wasn’t worth trying. I told myself that it is too late, my options are narrowed and all of the doors are closed. Therefore, I took school completely out of the picture and put myself in a state of content.

I specifically remember, when this opportunity was shared with me, thinking it was too good to be true. I think most of us could agree that we live in a world where it’s very hard to come by good things without a catch. So I read the Behavioral/Mental Health apprenticeship program description over and over and over again, trying to find the catch. When I couldn’t find the catch, I figured, what would it hurt? With my luck, I won’t be selected anyway. So, I went ahead and applied. As a result of having so little confidence in myself, and not seeing myself worthy of this too-good-to-be-true opportunity, I ended up missing the deadline for a video submission for my initial application.

Even though I was given another opportunity to send a video with a new deadline, oh my goodness did I want to throw in the towel. The fear of rejection and failure was creeping in. But then again, I figured, what would it hurt? So right after I gathered my senses, I sat on the floor of my niece’s bedroom (Frozen poster in the background and all), and recorded my video. Sometimes I think back about how much I would have missed out on if I didn’t take that second chance.

Throughout this experience and coming across people of all walks of life, I have come to realize that this opportunity is all about second chances. Alina and Irene have been such an important pillar of strength and support for me throughout this experience. They are quite literally the dream team. There were many times in this experience where I wanted to throw in the towel, but they never let me believe that that was ever an option. I felt as though I was falling behind my fellow apprentices and started to validate the doubts I had at the beginning of the process, it was too good to be true. Little did I know, there were moving pieces happening behind the scenes and even though I didn’t physically see it, Alina and Irene were continuously advocating for me.

When I was finally able to secure a job placement, I was told by various sources of Alina and Irene’s efforts and support in advocating for me. It’s hard to put into words how I was so positively affected by their efforts. Securing a job placement was a huge victory for me and such a breakthrough in this cycle of losses and defeat I had been feeling for the past 10 years of my life. Just to know and receive the fruits of their efforts in this experience alone has been extremely healing for me on all levels. Every single detail in this program is intentional and has been designed to set us up for success. My individual experience has been the most telling and true testimony of this. I used to merge and associate the concept of school with pain and failure. Now, school is a part of me that I proclaim so proudly. I have grown, healed, and learned so much because of this apprenticeship program. I was wrong. It isn’t too late, my options are many, and the doors are wide open.

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