Raymundo Arreaga Turns Pain Into Purpose

"Life is not about the gold waiting at the end of the rainbow. It is about the journey it took to get there and the person you become along the way."

Raymundo Arreaga will mark one year as a Medical Assistant Instructor at UEI Stockton this week. But his connection to the campus goes back much further, and it is a powerful story that reflects the very lessons of resilience he now teaches his students.

Raymundo first walked through UEI's doors in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as one of the first students to enroll in the school's new hybrid program. He did not arrive with a clear plan, but he was driven by a profound motivation: he would soon be a father.

"I really didn't know what I wanted to do," he said. "I was being told that I was going to become a father, so I kind of needed to change my life around, because I had a really rough background."

It was his mother, a UEI graduate and working medical assistant herself, who planted the seed of possibility.

"She kind of put the idea in my head," he said. "I was like, you know what, let me give it a try."

That single, courageous decision carried him through some of the hardest years of his life.

A Program Marked by Loss

While still a student, during his final module, his stepfather passed away. Not long after, while he was completing his externship, Raymundo was shot.

"It was a mixture of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and my past catching up with me," he said.

He took a six-week leave of absence to recover. When he returned to finish his externship, tragedy struck again when his grandmother passed away. Raymundo described that grueling period frankly.

"I was shot, an experience that left not only physical wounds but emotional ones that took even longer to heal," he said. "In the middle of trying to recover and process everything that had happened, I was still expected to show up, learn, and keep moving forward."

"There were days I didn't know how I would keep going," he added. "Some days, simply getting out of bed felt like a victory."

From Medical Assistant to Nursing, and an Unimaginable Loss

Raymundo persevered, graduated, and landed his first job at CMC as a rehabilitation medical assistant, eventually working his way up to lead medical assistant. But he wanted more, both for his career and his family. He chose to enroll in nursing school to elevate his skills.

Partway through the program, tragedy struck in the most devastating way possible: Raymundo's four-year-old son passed away.

"My whole reason was for my son, and now that had been taken away from me," he said. "At the time, I didn't see a reason for me to keep pushing."

He considered walking away from everything. What kept him going was the unwavering support of the same UEI community he had already graduated from.

"Even though I was no longer a student at UEI, all the faculty here continued to support me outside the school and told me to keep going, that I shouldn't stop," he said. "So, I did."

He poured that grief into profound empathy for others.

"I remember my first real patient interaction," he said. "My hands were shaking, my heart was racing, and I was trying so hard to do everything right. But when I looked at my patient and saw fear in their eyes, something shifted. For the first time, it wasn't about me anymore."

"That purpose carried me through recovery, grief, and doubt, and eventually pushed me forward into nursing. Being there for patients during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives showed me that pain does not have to be wasted. It can become something meaningful," Raymundo added.

Coming Back to UEI, This Time as an Instructor

Raymundo successfully finished nursing school, and when he learned about an opening for an instructor position at UEI, he knew he had to apply. He wanted to become the same beacon of hope for others that his instructors had been for him.

"I wanted to give students that same push that I got," he said. "Through everything I've battled and everything I've done, I still found a way out. I didn't allow any of those obstacles to stop me, because life is always going to get in your way. That's just the way life works. And the moment we allow life to win is when we give up on our why."

"I chose to teach because I wanted to give my students the same opportunity I was given: a chance to grow, heal, and build something for themselves, even when life feels like it is falling apart," he added.

Today, teaching is where Raymundo finds his deepest sense of purpose. Not all of his students are fresh out of high school. Many are adults looking for a second chance, a new career, and a fresh start.

"Being able to see that, it warms my heart," he said. "When they graduate and come back to me and say, 'I finished all my hours,' I'm able to give them a hug and say congratulations and welcome to the medical field. I know what that feels like, when all odds are against you and you continue to keep going and you finally finish. It's the best sense of achievement you could ever reach."

"I'm here for them, to encourage them and to continue doing what they're doing," he said, "because one day they could be just like me."

He sees pieces of his own story in the students who walk into his classroom every single day.

"Every time I stand in front of my class, I don't just see students, I see people who may be carrying burdens they never talk about. I see doubts that remind me of my own, and potential they may not yet see in themselves," he said. "I make it my mission to remind them that their circumstances do not define them, and that strength is not the absence of struggle. Strength is continuing despite it."

"Raymundo's journey is a powerful reminder that resilience isn't just something you talk about—it's something you live," said June Mano, Associate Director of Education at UEI College in Stockton. "After overcoming incredible adversity, he returned to UEI to give back to the school that played such an important role in his own medical journey. Every day, he shows our students that perseverance, compassion, and determination can change lives. We're incredibly proud to have him on our team."

Life Beyond the Classroom

A Stockton native born and raised, Raymundo now balances teaching part-time at UEI with demanding work as an ER nurse. True to his unstoppable drive, he is also back in school himself, working toward a master's degree with hopes of becoming a nurse practitioner.

For Raymundo, the message he hopes to leave with his students, and with anyone who hears his story, is simple yet transformative.

"Your lowest moments do not define your future," he said. "Sometimes they become the very reason you rise."