Page resident Melody Billy will be heading down to the Valley to continue toward her goal of becoming a physician. Courtesy photo.
PAGE — Page resident Melody Billy started her classes at Coconino Community College while getting treatment for cancer.
“My classes at CCC really got my mind off being sick,” she said. “It was my saving grace.”
Her cancer is in remission.
“We beat it,” she said with a smile while looking at her husband Orrin Billy. “So, that’s good.”
She graduated from CCC with a degree in PreHealth Careers and now works at Banner Page Hospital as a financial services representative. She has been accepted into the ASU Medical Studies program, and her goal is to become a physician.
This coming semester, Billy will be shadowing physicians down in the Valley and studying for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) in order to apply to medical school.
“CCC was my foundation to becoming a doctor,” Billy said. “CCC started me out on the right foot.”
She made particular mention of her chemistry teacher at CCC Page.
“He was always willing to assist me until I got it,” Billy said. “I got the chemistry, and that made so many more of my classes possible. It gave me the confidence in myself that hard classes like chemistry and organic chemistry are possible.”
The classes in Page were smaller and closer to home, which allowed for the instructors to give her the attention she needed, she also said.
“I’m very fortunate I found that here in Page,” Billy said.
In her current job at Banner Page Hospital, she greets all people being admitted into the hospital “on their not-so-best day” to get them registered.
“I smile,” Billy said. “If you just smile, it can change someone’s day.”
When Billy moves to the Valley to continue her studies, she will keep working for Banner down there. She is a Licensed Nursing Assistant, thanks to CCC, and she will be working in patient care when she transfers.
“I think what I see is what I expected,” Billy said of her chosen profession to strive for. “You’re there to help heal somebody, and if I can do that, I feel like I will have done my job. That’s what I want to do. I want to help heal people. That’s all that counts.”
Billy also has advice for people who might be thinking about changing a career and going back to college.
“If you really want it, if you think about it every day then fight for it don’t give up, you’ll get there,” she said. “It’s up to you.”
CCC Page is currently registering for the Fall semester, which includes in-person, hybrid, televised and online classes. Hybrid classes feature Friday visits to CCC Page every other Friday during the semester for class time and labs. To register, visit www.coconino.edu, call (928) 645-3987, or visit CCC Page at 475 S. Lake Powell Blvd.