Joseph Garcia

10,000 Degrees Alumnus
10,000 Degrees Fellow, South Bay
University of California, Merced, 2021

“I grew up in a single-parent household. I’m the third out of six siblings. I really looked up to my older siblings, but I also knew that I didn’t want to have their same challenges in life. Neither my parents nor my older siblings graduated from high school. Because of this, I feel like I have a huge responsibility to my younger siblings – I keep them in mind with whatever I do. I want them to become somebody. When I was a 10,000 Degrees student I found people to look up to: first-generation, minority people like me. It made me feel like if they could go to college, I could do it as well. I liked the perspective 10,000 Degrees gave me and I wanted to give that to students, so I became a Fellow as soon as I graduated college. To me, education is really important because the more you know, the more skills you have, the more you’re able to obtain, the more doors open for you. The best piece of advice I can give current college students is to trust your instincts and never give up. First-gen, low-income students often don’t have someone to look up to and that can be challenging. Don’t ever feel like you’re unimportant or invalid. At the end of the day, we’re all achieving the same goal.”