Nicole De Lima El Bekai

Nicole De Lima El Bekai chose Triton College for its close-knit community, even though she lived out of Triton’s district.

Having attended Catholic schools through high school, “I was very used to those small classrooms and knowing a teacher on a personal level where they know your first and last name,” she said. “When I came here, I had that.”

Now, as she prepares to graduate in May 2026 with an Associate of Applied Science degree in respiratory care, that sense of community has only deepened.

“Being in this program and making friendships with all different ages, it just shows that at the end of the day, we all have the common ground of wanting to help people and grow in our education,” said El Bekai.

El Bekai considered possible career paths, including teaching, before deciding that healthcare was the best place for her.

Triton’s respiratory care program began in 2024, and El Bekai is in the first cohort of students who will graduate.

"I learned a lot about it, and I was like, ‘wow, I think this is a great fit for me,’” said El Bekai. “You have a lot of patient interaction, but you also get to use a lot of technology.”

Respiratory therapists like El Bekai help patients breathe better in a variety of settings, including hospitals and long-term care facilities.

Triton’s program is designed to simulate real healthcare environments. Students use the same types of equipment they’ll use on the job, and labs – which El Bekai said can last more than three hours – are scenario-based.

Instructors like Kelly Lee, who choose to teach at Triton, have worked in respiratory care and attained advanced credentials.

Lee, who is a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT), Neonatal/Pediatric Specialist (RRT-NPS) and Certified Pulmonary Function Technologist (CPFT), gave El Bekai and her classmates a more complete understanding of what they were reading in their textbooks.

“She has all these stories and clinical experiences that are coming right out of the book but break it down for you and show a full picture,” said El Bekai.

It’s a complex and vital career, but El Bekai said it’s also a joyful one. “What brings you the most joy with respiratory [therapy] is how much patient interaction you have, and, truthfully, how much you help the patient get better,” she said.

Through multiple clinical rotations, El Bekai discovered which type of respiratory care she most prefers, and she will begin working at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after graduation from Triton and taking her board exams.

El Bekai said Triton’s student support programs, such as its Academic Success Center, helped her hone the foundational skills, such as mathematics, that she’s used in many of her classes.

And El Bekai said Triton College’s Office of Student Life made it easy to start a new campus club, the Respiratory Care Student Association.

“I love talking to people, so I was like, ‘we need a club to go alongside this program,’” she recalled.

The club held a walk for Respiratory Care Week in October, and is planning other activities, including a graduation pinning ceremony.

El Bekai encourages future Triton students to explore different areas of study. “Don’t be afraid, if you find something else you enjoy, to switch,” she said.

Triton is a place where you can both learn and lead, and El Bekai is now taking those lessons into a new community.

“We have so much autonomy as respiratory therapists and are truly part of the care team with the doctors and nurses and everyone else,” said El Bekai. “Our voices really do get heard.”