Published July 2025

Sarita Garcia has never been one to sit still. A Denver native from the Omaha tribe, she spent two decades working in hospitals as a surgical tech and sterile processing tech. She trained colleagues, comforted patients, and kept sterile instruments flowing in high-pressure environments. But in 2023, her life—and career—slammed to a halt when she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare condition that attacks the nerves and can leave patients paralyzed.

“I became sick and was diagnosed with a rare condition,” Sarita says. Although still in recovery, her time as a patient clarified what she wanted next. “I think I want to become something else in the medical field. I want to work with patients. Being a patient myself, I feel I have a lot to offer.”

That vision brought Sarita back to the place where she once finished her high school diploma: Emily Griffith Technical College. Today, she’s part of the Medical Assisting program, set to graduate in December 2025. Even as an older student in her forties, Sarita feels right at home.

“I know I picked the right school,” she says. “I may be older than the regular student here, but I do not feel out of place, and I feel belonging helps to make the learning experience better.”

Sarita explored plenty of options before enrolling. Other programs felt impersonal—just another number on a roster. Emily Griffith stood out for the opposite reason. “Everyone seems to be top of their game here, and the classes are more personalized,” she explains. “Less stress. I went to another school for surgical technology, and when I was there I didn’t feel like a student. I felt more like I was an object being pushed through on a conveyor belt. This place feels personal and supportive, and that is very conducive to being a good student.”

The financial support she’s received has been critical. As a student with a disability, she benefits from a third-party payment arrangement and funding resources that help keep her dream within reach. “I feel because I have financial support, I have the opportunity to prove to myself and others that nothing is going to stop me,” Sarita says. Emily Griffith Foundation plays a major role in making support for students like Sarita possible, offering scholarships and emergency funds to help students weather life’s storms.

Sarita is also serving as a Student Ambassador in 2025, sharing her story and encouraging others to pursue training they may have thought was out of reach. She knows better than most that the right environment can change everything. “Being [at Emily Griffith Technical College] I felt so supported and motivated to finish what I started, and I feel the same being here again,” she says. “The opportunities that this school has to offer is something most schools take for granted. I feel this school makes every effort to help students to become their best and helps them to embrace the opportunities that might not be there if this school wasn’t here doing what they do.”

Sarita hopes to return to hospital work after graduation. It’s a full-circle moment—an experienced professional bringing compassion forged by her own illness and experience. And she knows none of it would be possible without the programs, people, and donors who fuel Emily Griffith.