When Lily Yana talks about Unity Point, her whole face lights up. It’s clear she didn’t just find a job here—she found a place that feels like hers. As both a paraprofessional and the JV and varsity cheerleading coach, she moves through the school with a mix of warmth, humor, and steady confidence. And even though she once imagined a career far away from any school building, she now can’t picture working anywhere else.

Lily grew up in Anna and graduated from Anna-Jonesboro High School in 2020, a year when senior celebrations were reshaped by COVID. She entered SIU that fall, originally majoring in speech pathology before switching to psychology. She recently completed her bachelor’s degree and plans to pursue a master’s in behavioral analysis and therapy—but she’s taking her time getting there. Doing her coursework online fits her life better. “I’m busy here doing all the extra things,” she said, smiling.

Her journey to Unity Point began in a surprisingly ordinary moment—on vacation in Florida. She was traveling with family friends, including Stephanie Brown, whose son needed an Extraordinary Care Aide (EOC). Stephanie mentioned it casually, but the idea stayed with Lily on the long drive home. She realized that with online college classes, she could make it work. “I called her the day we got back,” she said. “I told her I’d do it if she needed one.”

That one phone call changed everything.

For her first two years, Lily worked as a one-on-one aide for a seventh and eighth grader. He was bright, independent, and well-adjusted academically, so Lily’s role focused mainly on keeping him organized, helping with assignments, and being an encouraging presence throughout the day. She followed him everywhere—band, PE, every class—until he moved on to high school. When he graduated, Lily transitioned to third grade, again serving as a one-on-one aide but also helping the whole class. “Being one-on-one doesn’t stop me from building relationships with everyone,” she said. Coaching cheer also pulls her into other grade levels, widening her connections across the school.

A big part of Lily’s passion for behavioral support comes from her younger sister, Allie. Diagnosed with autism as a toddler, Allie was once nonverbal. Today, she is sixteen, thriving in high school, talking constantly about Mickey Mouse and Looney Tunes, taking cooking classes, and learning life skills. Watching therapists support her sister shaped Lily’s understanding of what good behavioral work can do. One of those professionals was Unity Point’s current BCBA, Kirsten Schaper, whom Lily met when she was nine. “Kirsten is who I want to be when I grow up,” she said. That early connection continues to guide her career goals.

Cheerleading is the other major piece of Lily’s life. She cheered from fifth grade through her senior year and loved every minute of it. Now she brings that enthusiasm to Unity Point’s JV and varsity squads. She coaches alongside QT Hudson, who teaches at Rebound, the alternative school connected to Carbondale Community High School. Together, they lead a team of eleven girls and one boy, gradually building stunting, timing, and tight motions into their routines.

Lily’s favorite part of coaching is challenging misconceptions. “Unity Point never stunted when I was a kid,” she said. “I wanted these kids to learn there’s more to cheer than cheering on the sidelines.” Tumbling wasn’t her strength growing up (“I’m kind of clumsy,” she admitted), but stunting? That she can do with anyone. She loves teaching students the trust, communication, and precision it takes to make a stunt hit cleanly.

The squads cheer at boys’ and girls’ basketball games, focusing on home games but attending more away games every year. Lily especially loves cheering at girls’ games because the energy in the gym matters. “The girls love having us there,” she said. “It gives them a loud gym. I love that.”

Through all of this—coaching, supporting students, working one-on-one, studying psychology—Lily keeps circling back to the same belief: Unity Point is where she belongs. She loves the diversity of the school, the way students include one another, and how the staff works together as a true community. “Unity Point is my home,” she said. “I’ve built relationships with kids, their siblings, their families, and the teachers. I don’t think I could live in this area and work at another school.”

She imagines her future clearly: becoming a BCBA, maybe earning a teaching certification, perhaps taking on even more roles at Unity Point someday. But for now, she is exactly where she wants to be—helping students grow, cheering them on from the sidelines, and learning from every day she spends in the classroom.