For Carina Raya the path to becoming a physician didn’t begin in a lab, a classroom or even a hospital. It began with a hammer in her hand and a set of floorboards at her feet. Now a first-year medical student at Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine Carina has carried the lessons of persistence, resilience and teamwork from her home-building projects into her journey toward medicine.
Originally from Eliot, Maine, the last stop before the state meets New Hampshire, Carina spent much of her 20s far from home. She lived overseas in Indonesia, Morocco, the Philippines and China where she was immersed in different cultures and communities. From 2014 to 2020 she worked as a yoga teacher in New England and internationally, primarily in Indonesia. Those global experiences sparked a passion for public health which only deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic. After returning from overseas Carina and her partner drove out west to the Santa Cruz mountains of California where they lived in a 13-foot travel trailer in her aunt’s yard while searching for labor jobs.
In early 2021 shortly after her 30th birthday Carina was accepted into the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, where she enrolled in the medical biology and medical sciences BS program.
To make her education possible she and her partner decided they needed stable housing. Their first idea was to convert a school bus into a tiny house. It seemed affordable, flexible and practical for a student’s uncertain future. But local laws prevented them from living on land in the bus so they pivoted.
Instead they purchased a run-down house with a few acres of land. It was affordable because it needed extensive work but Carina saw opportunity where others might see only obstacles. Together she and her partner gutted and renovated the house from the inside out. They laid hardwood floors, installed tile, designed lighting, mixed cement and waxed wood. Carina threw herself into the work, learning each step as she went.
“I knew I couldn’t make it through school without a home,” she said. “Building and becoming a physician are intertwined for me. You don’t need to know everything all at once, you just take it one step at a time.”
For Carina, building homes has become more than a necessity, it’s also a metaphor for her journey in medicine. She admits that when she started she didn’t know how difficult it would be or how long the work might take.
“Honestly, if I’d known at the start how hard it was going to be I might never have begun,” she said. “But I just figured it out along the way.”
That same mindset is now guiding her through the early stages of medical school at Marshall.
Much like home renovation medicine is about teamwork. Carina is quick to point out that she couldn’t have completed her housing projects alone. She’s skilled in flooring, finishes and design but less experienced with electrical, plumbing or framing. That’s where her partner’s strengths came in.
“It’s important to know you don’t have to be good at everything,” Carina said. “You just need a good team.” She sees medicine the same way. Each physician, nurse and health care professional brings different expertise to build the best outcomes for patients.
Today Carina and her partner still live in the house they renovated but her building journey continues. She is currently constructing a small cabin on a piece of land in Salt Rock, West Virginia, where she plans to live closer to nature.
Choosing Marshall was no coincidence either since its location offers her the opportunity to embrace both rural living and her dream of becoming a physician.
When asked what she takes from her years of building into her medical education Carina doesn’t hesitate: “Keep your workspace clean, stay organized and take it one step at a time.”
From laying tile to laying the groundwork for her career in medicine Carina Raya is proof that persistence and vision can turn challenges into opportunities.
Her story is one of resilience, adaptability and hope showing that tiny houses can lead to big dreams and the foundations we build today can shape a limitless future.
