In a remote village in rural Cambodia, where extreme poverty was the norm and opportunities were virtually nonexistent, Lyheng Hoeurng learned from an early age what it meant to be resilient.
Never in Lyheng’s wildest dreams did he imagine that his life would take him across the globe to pursue a doctorate in medicine.
“My family comes from a very poor community where very few people, if any, have opportunities to go to university or pursue their dreams,” explained Lyheng. “It may sound crazy but at best only one in hundreds of thousands are able to make it out. I know how lucky I am to be here today.”
Born into a family devastated by the Cambodian Genocide, which killed over two million people, including all his relatives except for his father, Lyheng's early life was defined by survival. As one of seven siblings raised by rice farmers, Lyheng learned from an early age how to be self-sufficient. Every day, his mother would spend nearly every waking hour in the fields just to support the family. And even then, that was sometimes not enough.
"My father moved to another part of Cambodia when we were young so my mom had to do everything to feed the family," Lyheng recalled. "Sometimes when she came back home, we went to bed without food. I remember one day my brother and I had to jump in the pond to catch frogs at night because we didn't have food. We had a headlight—it was so funny, but we got a few frogs, and my mom was so happy."
Despite the overwhelming challenges, Lyheng's father had instilled one crucial value before leaving - the importance of education. This belief would become Lyheng's guiding light through years of hardship.
As Lyheng grew older, the pursuit of education became increasingly difficult. In his hometown, there was no electricity, no plumbing, and schooling only went through the preschool level. When he finished elementary school, he had to move to a small city and live with relatives to continue his education. But the physical and emotional demands were brutal. As a teenager weighing only about 80 pounds, Lyheng had to work a demanding construction job carrying 50-pound bags of cement and shoveling materials. He received no compensation, just an agreement that in exchange for labor, he would get food and the opportunity to attend the local school.
"I wanted to give up so many times back then,” Lyheng shared. "But everyone was counting on me, and I knew very few people from my home got this opportunity."
That resiliency finally paid off in 2012 when Lyheng became the first person in his extended family of over 50 relatives to graduate from high school in Cambodia, a milestone that opened doors he never imagined possible. Upon completing high school, Lyheng earned scholarships to two Cambodian universities and graduated with a degree in hospitality management.
With his degree in hand, Lyheng was able to secure a position at a hotel in the city that paid him $500 per month. While modest by Western standards, for Lyheng and his family, who had known only extreme poverty, this level of income was life-changing. For the first time, he could support not just himself. But even then, he could never have guessed what would come next in his life.
One day at work, a seemingly homeless American traveler checked into the budget hotel where Lyheng worked. The man looked down on his luck, and Lyheng's compassionate nature took over.
"I thought he was a poor guy, so I gave him my dinner," Lyheng remembered.
Soon after, the two struck up a conversation. The stranger asked Lyheng about his dreams, and he shared his seemingly impossible ambition to pursue a master's degree abroad, which felt completely out of reach for someone from his circumstances.
What happened next would change Lyheng's life forever. Days later, Lyheng received an unexpected email from the same stranger. It contained a link to apply to Cal State University, San Marcos, along with a message: “I’m willing to sponsor your education in the U.S.”
Eagerly, Lyheng took the man up on his generosity and got accepted into Cal State University, San Marcos. But timing was everything, and the journey to a U.S. degree was far from smooth. Despite working hard and obtaining his MBA in California, COVID-19 had other plans. The fallout during the pandemic cost Lyheng his internship position and his H-1B visa opportunity. But rather than give up, he pivoted to science, enrolling in MiraCosta College's Biomanufacturing Bachelor's Degree Program.
The decision was deeply personal, too. Having witnessed family members in Cambodia suffer from diabetes without access to affordable insulin, including his father, who eventually passed away because he wasn’t able to receive medical care at the moment when he was dying, Lyheng saw biomanufacturing as a way to potentially help address such healthcare disparities.
At MiraCosta College, Lyheng found more than just education. He found a family. The support from his counselors and professors helped him navigate not only academic challenges but also the complex transition between programs when he decided to shift toward the medical field.
"The people at MiraCosta College are really, really kind," Lyheng shared. “They have believed in me every step of the way and done everything they can to help me accomplish my goals.”
In the classroom at MiraCosta College, Lyheng thrived. And the results were remarkable. After two years in the Biomanufacturing Bachelor's Degree Program, he was accepted into the Marquette University Master of Science in Nursing program. Then, after graduating from Marquette, because Lyheng was unable to work as a registered nurse right away due to visa restrictions, he reconnected with the staff at MiraCosta College to help him apply to doctoral programs.
Said Lyheng, “I never thought I would be preparing to start a doctorate program in nursing. This journey has been hard, but I am so proud given where I came from and it’s thanks in large part to the community at MiraCosta College.”
Today, Lyheng is preparing to start his doctorate program at Boston College where he hopes to graduate and use his skills to help people in rural communities in the U.S. who don’t have the same access to healthcare.
“I know what it means to grow up in a place where healthcare isn’t readily available and what that can do to people,” explained Lyheng. “I want to make sure everyone has the medical support they need to live healthy and happy in their communities.”