Moving Forward While Giving Back

In his senior year of high school, Marco Garcia stared at an invitation to the University of California Davis’ freshman orientation weekend. He was what he calls a “goody two shoes,” and college would offer him an opportunity to branch out. Skeptical of the importance of the weekend, he reached out to whom he now considers his surrogate family at THE MJ PROJECT.

Marco became the first MJ PROJECT recipient to donate back to the foundation in May and reflected on the importance of this relationship to him and the path he’s taken to get to where he is now.

“THE MJ PROJECT found me…They made it happen. They brought me up all the way from LA… to Davis,” Marco said. “They stayed with me the weekend, so they gave me the first exposure to Davis.”

In the fall, Marco ventured out to find his way in the college community. He joined a dance team, a fraternity, and began studying engineering. As he journeyed through college, he said his relationship with THE MJ PROJECT’s founders Tom and Leslie blossomed too.

“I got a lot of mentoring from them I’d say…emotional support and mental support to make sure I was still going and pursuing my degree.”

This support came in handy as Marco found himself challenged by the new freedom in college that he craved after completing high school.

“I didn’t prioritize the right things. I was trying to prioritize my social life…I was put on academic probation three different times.”

As a first generation college student, Marco said he found navigating these challenges that arose even harder.

“I had no guidance. All the stuff that I was doing, I was learning on my own,” he said. “A lot of other people who I knew, their parents were college educated…they were having a blast…I definitely did see that I was starting at a different place than my peers.”

While he navigated this reality, he found ways to take advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves.

“Some professors collect their library [then] clean it out, and they just leave random, free books on the side. I [saw] my opportunity, and I grabbed those books.”

Marco also continued to dive into as many campus organizations as possible, and though he found it difficult to balance, it taught him an important lesson.

“I spread myself too thin. I tried to tackle everything…it wasn’t until my last year that I started to prioritize what things I actually wanted to,” Marco said. “Luckily, I got my stuff together, I got my act together, and I ended up finishing.”

Now as a college graduate, he can see the ways he’s grown and changed from his experience at UC Davis.

“I am not as compulsive as I used to be. I take into consideration a lot more variables than I used to,” Marco said. “My own perception of myself is changing.”

He’s also set out to learn as much as possible about his career in storm water compliance and engineering and learn ways to continue bettering himself as a professional and person. Some of these lessons come through reading and others through hands on experience.

“I’m just being a sponge. I’m just absorbing as much as I can because down the line, I don’t want to be someone’s asset forever. I want to start building my own assets, build my own business.”

Marco also joined a mentorship program that he says is helping to shape his mind to meet his future goals in engineering.

“I got exposed to Malcolm Gladwell…I just finished reading his book Talking to Strangers,” Marco said. “They’re giving me all these really good materials. I’m just internalizing it.”

In the future, he hopes to continue growing, eventually build his own consulting company, foster a love of reading and education in his siblings, and continue to give back to others like he desired to do with his $500 donation to THE MJ PROJECT.

“They’ve done a lot for me. They’ve helped me get to where I am now,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to help in some way…I just had to do something.”

Marco hopes that his donation helps a student, who started off like him when he entered college. And for them, he has a piece of advice that’s helped him along the way.

“Cast away your doubts. You should have doubts, sure, but your desire for success has to be greater than your fear of failure.”

#movingfoward #givingback

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