Program Helped Her Finish a Degree After 14 Years. Now She's Helping Others
It took Lilly Uvalle a few tries to complete her education at UC Merced.
Uvalle started her collegiate career in the fall of 2010 after graduating from Buhach Colony High School in Atwater.
"I did two years, my freshman and sophomore years," she said. "Then I withdrew. I tried coming back once in 2013 and withdrew again. Then I tried coming back in 2017."
Family obligations, mental health concerns and feeling overwhelmed by what it would take to get back to school got in the way. Then, in 2022, something changed.