Licensed Nursing Assistant program for New Americans sends off first graduates

Yuhsien Wu-Riggs recieves her LNA certification at the Second Start LNA program graduation at NHTI on Friday. 

Yuhsien Wu-Riggs recieves her LNA certification at the Second Start LNA program graduation at NHTI on Friday.  Yaa Bame—Monitor staff

Lilian Gomez recieves her LNA certification at the Second Start LNA program graduation at NHTI on Friday. 

Lilian Gomez recieves her LNA certification at the Second Start LNA program graduation at NHTI on Friday.  Yaa Bame—Monitor staff

Yuhsien Wu-Riggs smiles for a photo before her graduation from Second Start’s first cohort of the LNA program for New Americans. 

Yuhsien Wu-Riggs smiles for a photo before her graduation from Second Start’s first cohort of the LNA program for New Americans.  Yaa Bame—Monitor staff

Lilian Gomez smiles and holds a few of her textbooks before her graduation from Second Start’s LNA for New American’s program. 

Lilian Gomez smiles and holds a few of her textbooks before her graduation from Second Start’s LNA for New American’s program.  Yaa Bame—Monitor staff

Mayor Byron Champlin speaks to the LNA students at their graduation at NHTI on Friday. He was invited by Yuhsien Wu-Riggs. 

Mayor Byron Champlin speaks to the LNA students at their graduation at NHTI on Friday. He was invited by Yuhsien Wu-Riggs.  Yaa Bame—Monitor staff

By YAA BAME

Monitor staff

Published: 06-07-2025 9:17 AM

As Yuhsien Wu-Riggs walked up to receive her Licensed Nursing Assistant certification, she raised the roof with a grin on her face.

Born and raised in Taiwan, Wu-Riggs graduated from Second Start’s first cohort of the LNA for New Americans program. Beginning in January, seven female students born in an array of different countries, learned medical terminology in English for six-weeks, completed 60 hours of online theory and hands-on laboratory experience and 60 hours of clinical experience.

Second Start began offering adult educational programs in 1971. More than 50 years later, the non-profit has expanded to offer more than a dozen programs directed towards adults, teens and children. The LNA program is a partnership between Second Start, New Hampshire Technical Institute and Southern New Hampshire Services.

“Joining the LNA program at Second Start has been one of most meaningful experiences of my life,” said Wu-Riggs. “At first, I was nervous, but I reminded myself to stay strong and never give up.”

Wu-Riggs first came to New Hampshire in 2018 to visit a friend. While she was here, she fell in love, got married and stayed. In 2019, she began her journey at Second Start, joining the New American Driving School, to get her license. From there, she branched out at the organization by taking ESOL classes and began the LNA program this year.

As a speaker of “two and a half ” languages: Taiwanese, Mandarin and “some” English, learning the medical terminology was difficult, since it’s Latin-based. Despite this challenge, Wu-Riggs powered through. She said she was inspired to pursue a career in healthcare after her father passed away last year in hospice care.

“They need a lot of care in hospice and you need help with the machines, the oxygen, the IV, everything. My dream is to one day start my own business in healthcare, such as home care, where I can bring comfort and support to people who need it most,” said Wu-Riggs. “This is just a beginning and I’m excited for what comes next.”

Lilian Gomez, another graduate of the program, was eager to get started as a nurse assistant.

Article continues after...

Yesterday's Most Read Articles

A Webster property was sold for unpaid taxes in 2021. Now, the former owner wants his money back
NH Supreme Court dismisses case of Concord lacrosse player over eligibility to play
‘He died loving you’ — Jesse Sullivan sentenced in murder of half-brother Zackary
Universal EFA program sees 2,000 applications in first week of expansion
Webster seized and sold his house for back taxes. Now the town has agreed to pay him $38,000
Company C is closing its Concord store – but the company itself isn’t closing

“Where I come from, we have a lot of lack in the healthcare area,” said Gomez, who hails from Colombia. “So, I had that inclination for wanting to know more about healthcare and also learn how to provide and teach other people and teach the community, how to be part of healthcare too.”

She recently moved to Concord from South Carolina, where she worked in the healthcare field and realized she had a passion for it.

“I loved it and I felt like I needed more of it and I had already had that inclination for serving people,” said Gomez. “So LNA was a good opportunity for me.”

Gomez began at Second Start by taking their advanced English classes. When the schedule no longer worked for her, her teacher told her about the LNA program and she enrolled.

“I was expecting that I would gain a lot of knowledge,” said Gomez. “But I didn’t expect that I would have so much support from this program.”

LNA students were paired with community tutors – many of whom were retired physicians, nurses and professionals – to aid in their absorption of the content and the associated medical terminology.

“There’s such a need for LNA’s right now,” said Zanna Blaney, the director of Adult Education and Literacy at Second Start. “Now they have access for growth in their career and their lives, and we as citizens are only going to benefit from them having this degree.”

Yaa Bame can be reached at ybame@cmonitor.com