After a journey spanning countries, decades and countless triumphs, Navy veteran and Ecuadorian immigrant Yahizkibel “Yahiz” Vallenilla is on the verge of a monumental moment: earning a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene from 51鱨վ, just a week after she turns 43.
“In about a month, I will be graduating. And I'm excited. I'm really excited about it!” she said.
But Vallenilla’s achievements have not come without sacrifice, and as she prepares to don her cap and gown in just a few weeks, she remembers the ups and downs that brought her here.
Born in Ecuador and raised between Ecuador and Venezuela, she recalls travelling between family members from the age of six to nine and attending seven schools over the course of six years.
“My parents separated when I was two years old,” she said. “So, my mom decided to leave me with her sister and went to Venezuela to work.”
When Vallenilla was 15, her mother returned to Ecuador in hopes of reuniting with her daughter full-time, only to discover her entire savings was gone.
“The government is not too honest over there,” Vallenilla said. “So, they stole all the money from the banks. All the money my mom had worked for and saved for the future was gone.”
“Many people migrated to find work because they had nothing left,” she said — her mother was one of them. “Even though my mom was the youngest of her siblings, she tried to provide for everyone. She worked really hard.”
Despite the circumstances, Vallenilla had big dreams of entering the dental field and at 19, she enrolled at Facultad Piloto de Odontología, a dental school in Ecuador. After graduating, she used her skills to help those in need, working with a group of classmates to provide free dental care to rural towns in the area.
“My intention was never to make money,” she said. “Maybe because I’ve had so many ups and down in life, I thought that I could provide for others with my talents.”
Vallenilla continues to pursue her passion of helping people, receiving the 2023 Sharon C. Stull Oral Health Community Impact Scholarship for her leadership and volunteer initiatives to increase oral health literacy in Hampton Roads.
“Despite all the ways in which Yahiz excelled in the dental hygiene program, nothing compares to the heart she put into serving the community,” said Brenda Bradshaw, assistant professor in the College of Health Sciences. “She is well known for her innovative accomplishments and for serving the local Hispanic community.”
As the recipient of this scholarship, Vallenilla worked with her mentor, Professor Adaira Howell, to organize a Latin Dental Access Day where they provided dental care and interpretation services to underserved individuals in Hispanic communities. Vallenilla also volunteered to help her classmates translate documents from English to Spanish.
But English, especially translating, has not always come easy to Vallenilla. She remembers being newly married, pregnant with her first child and moving to Ossining, New York where she struggled to adjust to her new surroundings.
“In the beginning it was really hard,” she said. “I didn’t have any family here. If you think my English is bad now, imagine 18 years ago!”
Determined to create a better life for her family and continue her education, Vallenilla started taking English classes on the weekends at Westchester Community College and eventually enrolled for night classes at Ninth District Dental Association.
She worked, saved money and eventually joined the Navy — another goal of hers.
“When I was back in Ecuador, my intention was to be part of the Navy there,” she said. “I was doing the paperwork, but I married and moved here. So, I said to myself, let me check it out again.”
Vallenilla joined the U.S. Navy and completed bootcamp in Great Lakes, Illinois. She recalls being the oldest in her class at 30 years old, the youngest in her group was 17.
“But it was fun for me,” Vallenilla laughed. “The people in charge of my group were yelling at us and making us exercise, but the best part was that I didn't understand anything they were saying.”
While she was in Great Lakes she studied as an electronic technician, and when she was transferred to Biloxi, Mississippi, she went to school for weather radars. In July 2013, Vallenilla received orders to transfer to Virginia. Upon arrival, she was immediately deployed on the CVN 75 Harry S. Truman until April 2014.
“When I was on the ship, we had access to the internet only after midnight. So, during that time I was searching for schools and housing so that I could bring my daughter to Virginia,” she said. “And I was lucky. I got a townhouse in the area and I found 51鱨վ.”
She applied to 51鱨վ’s dental hygiene program in 2017 but was unable to enroll due to life circumstances. She was remarried, had two more children and decided to focus on her budding family — a choice she does not regret.
But in 2022, it was her time.
“Now is the time for me to go back to school,” she said. “I liked 51鱨վ as an institution. It was close to my house and they had a dental hygiene program, which is my background and what I love to do. It was perfect for me.”
Vallenilla attributes her upcoming degree and her academic success to her professors, calling them “angels.”
“Professors Brenda Bradshaw and Jessica Suedbeck were amazing,” she said. “Knowing that people around me supported me and appreciated me helped me to get through. I would not be graduating without them.”
And while Vallenilla humbly received the support of her professors, her professors were eager to be the ones she could rely on.
“Yahiz has been an absolutely shining star in the dental hygiene program and I have had the pleasure of working with her as her senior clinic coordinator,” said Jessica Suedbeck, assistant professor in the School of Dental Hygiene. “She has always excelled and pushed hard to be successful, so in Fall 2023 when I heard news that she may be leaving the program due to personal issues, I was devastated. I immediately set up a meeting with Yahiz to discuss what support we could give and I wanted her to know the entire faculty was in her corner cheering her on. I am so grateful she persevered and never gave up —she is going to be a truly phenomenal dental hygienist! I will never forget Yahiz.”
In a full-circle moment, Vallenilla’s oldest daughter — who has been with her through it all — will continue her mother’s legacy at 51鱨վ. She is 18 years old and a biomedical major.
Vallenilla is looking forward to taking some time off after she graduates and hopes to go on a two-week vacation with her children.
“I think I owe them that,” she said.
After that, she plans to work as a dental hygienist and volunteer at the Chesapeake Care Clinic, doing what she loves and does best.
Vallenilla’s story is far from over, but when she does hang up her dental coat, she hopes to pass her thirst for knowledge and her tenacity on to her children.
“I think that education is better than inheritance,” she said. “If you cannot leave your children a house or lots of money, it’s okay, as long as you educate them and you give them the opportunity to pursue their dreams. I think that's the best.”