Munguia followed her dream to Universidad de Guadalajara, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing. She worked for three years as a board-certified RN in Guadalajara and Tizapán, before challenges in the industry — including a lack of personal protective equipment in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic — spurred her to move to San Diego.
A new country meant a new start. Munguia said her first goal was learning the language, so she enrolled in the San Diego College of Continuing Education and began taking English as a Second Language classes in fall 2022. She also enrolled in the college’s tuition-free Certified Nursing Assistant Program, completing it in May 2024.
“I learned the phrase ‘don't give up’ here,” she said about the College of Continuing Education. “I remember my first day of class, when I thought I couldn’t do this, my professor told me, ‘don’t quit, keep going – even if you have obstacles, carry on and never give up.’”
Munguia is now enrolled in advanced ESL classes at CCE and has passed the state exam to be a certified CNA. She is still eligible to validate the registered nursing degree she earned in Mexico, but said she wanted to get nursing experience in this country first and is grateful she found the College of Continuing Education.
“I want to be the best nurse I can be,” Munguia said. “I’m glad I started with the nursing assistant courses here.” She said she hopes to eventually become a pediatric nurse.