Bio

My name is Itzel Garcia. I am a first year studying Journalism at the Moody College of Communication of The University of Texas. I was born in Texas but was raised in a very rural part of Mexico until I was nine. I traveled back to Texas and resumed my education there due to a tragic and unexpected event. My father was murdered by an America police man, as a result of discrimination and corruption. Without my father were not able to survive economically in a very deteriorating Mexico and so, my journey into Texas and a whole complete new country arose.

My first challenge upon the strange land was learning English. This was facilitated by my discovery of literature and love for the words constructed. I was able to learn English at a very fast pace, thoroughly fascinated by the language and how it had the ability to twist a different meaning with the same Spanish letters. The next challenge I encountered revolved around my ethnicity and economic situation. I was a rejected child because I had an accent and because, there's no other way to put it, was poor. My family was literally supported by the American government because when we lost my father, we lost everything. My mother had minimal education and with four children, all which were below the age of 10, she was not able to support us. I understood the situation immediately and because of my fast understanding, I was able to deduct a very brilliant solution. The key was education! Of course, this might seem simple to anyone, but not in my family, it was not simple at all. After all, I was a woman, I was raised in a very patriarchal manner, I was raised to bow down to men, I was raised to be married not educated. Yet, I decided to be the opposite.

In a world where I should have been a woman, one who sits at the kitchen and stands up to serve men, I decided to sit at libraries and stand up whenever a teacher asked questions. I gained reputation first as a book worm, next as a teacher's pet and lastly, as a very opinionated and learned young woman. At the start of middle school I started an early college program in which I obtained my Associate's degree at the end of High School. By the time, I was accepted into UT Austin, I had two years’ worth of college education. Thanks to the Early College of Progreso High School, a very tiny institution but valiant in their efforts to educate the future, I was also able to obtain a scholarship at UT, which lasts for my four years in college. The teachers and counselors of the Early College polished my character and weaved it in with my past which ultimately led to having been awarded the President Achievement Scholarship by the University of Texas at Austin, and with that the key to my dreams.

Now I am a proud student of the Moody College of Communication and looking forward to start my road on the world of news.