{"id":2487,"date":"2018-01-29T17:51:58","date_gmt":"2018-01-29T17:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=2487"},"modified":"2018-01-29T17:51:58","modified_gmt":"2018-01-29T17:51:58","slug":"tstc-alum-breaks-cycle-finds-rewarding-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=2487","title":{"rendered":"TSTC Alum Breaks Cycle, Finds Rewarding Career"},"content":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – Olga Garcia is director of data systems at the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District — a career she never dreamed of while growing up because of her family\u2019s circumstances.<\/p>\n

The Harlingen native was raised in a migrant family, traveling annually to Washington state and Oregon to pick strawberries, pears and apples and not returning until September or October.<\/p>\n

\u201cI usually had to play catch-up in school,\u201d said Garcia. \u201cBut it was important to my parents that I get an education. They wanted my siblings and me to have more than a life as a migrant.\u201d<\/p>\n

And although taking the big step of enrolling in college was exciting and scary for Garcia, she knew that as a first-generation college student this was her chance to help her family and break a cycle.\"TSTC<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cCollege was the goal for me from the beginning,\u201d she said. \u201cMigrant work is hard work, and I knew an education would change the lives of many.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia\u2019s decision to enroll in college came in the 1980s when computers were just starting to come into play. Her sister purchased one for her house and Garcia helped her set it up, sparking an interest in Garcia that has led to a successful career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to go to a college where I could graduate within a couple of years and immediately start working,\u201d said Garcia. \u201cTSTI, now TSTC, had a reputation for this so I decided to give it a try.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1985 Garcia graduated with her associate degree in Data Processing from TSTC and immediately found a job with Weslaco Independent School District as a programmer. She was there for 14 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe training and coursework at TSTC helped me be competitive and find a job quickly,\u201d she said. \u201cTSTC helped me fulfill my goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia credits her instructors and peers for her success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had the opportunity at TSTC to work with the most experienced instructors, and the hands-on training was invaluable,\u201d said Garcia. \u201cAnd to this day I am still friends with people I met while in college.\u201d<\/p>\n

After her time at TSTC, Garcia went on to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree in Computer Information Systems from the University of Texas-Pan American in 1998 and a master\u2019s degree in Education Technology from the University of Texas at Brownsville in 2011. Both colleges have since merged to become the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.<\/p>\n

After Garcia\u2019s 14 years in Weslaco, she worked for nearly a year at TSTC\u2019s Information Technology Help Desk before joining the Harlingen school district, where she has been for nearly 15 years and has served as assistant computer programmer, coordinator of student applications and, most recently, director.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever did I expect I would ever have such a successful career,\u201d she said. \u201cFrom the beginning to now, I am so blessed and grateful to be where I am today. It\u2019s more than I could ever imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia said she does not know what the future holds for her, but she is very happy and looking forward to more years with HCISD and spending time with her husband of 31 years, who she met as a student at TSTC, as well as with her children and three-year-old grandson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve come a long way, and I hope my story can be an inspiration for others,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Garcia shared some advice. \u201cNever give up. There are a lot of opportunities, so seek them, ask questions and ask for help,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd remember that when one door closes, another door always opens.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information on programs offered at TSTC, visit tstc.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – Olga Garcia is director of data systems at the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District — a career she never dreamed of while growing up because of her family\u2019s circumstances. The Harlingen native was raised in a migrant family, traveling annually to Washington state and Oregon to pick strawberries, pears and apples and not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-harlingen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2487"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2489,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487\/revisions\/2489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}