On a brisk, Spring-like day in March, Diana Rivera walked into a classroom at Centinela Valley Adult School, just like she'd done everyday for nearly the past two months. She was eager to hear a lecture in her "Medical Assistant" class, a course she believed would be key to successfully starting a career in the medical field. Getting there had been a struggle. "I searched and searched for so long," she said. "I tried to get in three years ago, but there was a waiting list."

The Medical Assistant course was started 12 years ago, and over the years, it grew to become one of the most popular on campus. But on that day, just as Rivera was settling into her coursework, everything changed. "They just came in, gave us notice that school was over, and took us out."

And just like that, her dreams vanished. The class and its instructor were suddenly eliminated due to cuts in state funding. "It was devastating," Rivera said. "I was let down."

But as she was escorted off campus that morning, what she didn't know was that her teacher was also about to become her champion.

Educator Cristina Chiappe, who created the course and has taught it since its inception, suddenly found herself unemployed. And while she no longer had a physical location to teach, she never once thought to stop the class. "I didn't want to leave my students with nothing. They cut the money back. This is not all about money, it's about education," she said.

So Chiappe came up with an idea -- one that her students and onlookers have described as "brave," "risky" and "heroic."

She decided to continue teaching her group of displaced students, and open her own school.

"The students wanted to continue their education. I proposed to them, if we can open our own site ... we'd be able to buy all the equipment so that they can have hands-on training. So we did it!"

Her students were thrilled, but nervous at the same time. "We knew it was going to be something different. You don't hear this every day. We were ready for the ride, but also a little scared," Rivera said.

Of the 20 students enrolled in the original class, 16 young women pledged to give Chiappe their full support and embark on the adventure.

But first, there were some barriers to confront. Chiappe successfully registered her not-for-profit school, South Bay Careers, with the state of California and Los Angeles County. However, her application for a business license from the City of Lawndale was denied due to insufficient parking, she said. "I was pretty shook up."

Thinking about how she didn't want to see her students let down a second time, Chiappe decided to continue her class in a secret location.

She agreed to show CNN her classroom on condition we don't disclose its whereabouts. Each of her students paid $1,600, which covered rent, liability insurance, utilities, a television, Internet service, and medical supplies. Chiappe herself went without a salary.

The doors were open within weeks.

"I couldn't believe it," said Sally Montenegro. "The first day we were in class, everybody was laughing. We couldn't believe she got the place, she had the tables and everything set up."

Many of her students couldn't afford to pay the tuition upfront. So she bought text books and medical equipment as the money trickled in. "Little by little, she started buying (the instructional materials), and we were always excited when new equipment came in to get the hands-on training," Montenegro said.

The room slowly filled to include exam tables, stethoscopes, an electrocardiogram, baby mannequins and surgical scissors.

"It was a team effort," Chiappe said. "The students and I, we did it together. I can't take all the credit. They believed in my dream."

But that dream didn't come without tremendous personal sacrifice.

"The rent is due on the first of the month, and if I didn't have the money, I had to reach into my pocket," Chiappe said. "When I was laid off from Centinela, my husband and I (who is also a teacher), sat down and we looked at the numbers, and there was no way I could keep my house."