PVCC Puma Press: April 2006

It is after 10 p.m. at Taco Bell, and cars are four deep in the drive-thru. José Cruz Garcia, the night shift manager, is multitasking. He passes out chalupas and Mexican pizzas while politely chatting about himself with me.

“How can I help you?” He asks, pushing the button on the radio attached to his belt and rising from the table. His stocky shape moves across the freshly mopped floor and disappears through a white door that leads to the kitchen.

Five minutes later, after serving two carloads of famished people, Garcia returns to the table. He smiles, apologizes for making me wait and says he is ready to continue.

I ask him if, now that he has finished his degree, he plans to leave Taco Bell to work at a better job.

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	In Garcia's previous jobs, management actively discouraged his seeking of an education
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“I believe I will leave here before this year is over. I do have opportunities to get better paying jobs now. But I want to make sure there is someone to take my place. I am loyal to them (Taco Bell) because they have treated me very well,” he says.

At 27, Garcia, a polite and genuine man who conquered a language barrier, the lack of previous education and financial disadvantages to graduate from ASU with a degree in sociology, is now considering applying to medical school.

Born in Delicias, Chihuahua, Mexico, Garcia grew up there before coming to the United States in 1995 with his family. Originally permitted to enter the country on a work visa, he hopes to receive his Green Card sometime in 2006.Garcia says his family does not value an education because they do not understand the opportunities it affords. Despite this, having never seen or used a calculator or computer, Garcia enrolled in English as Second Language classes at North Canyon High School upon entering the country.

After two years, he completed courses required for high school graduation, but was told by his history teacher that he would not be able to go on to college because his English was not good enough.

Despite the warning, Garcia enrolled at PVCC and continued balancing low-income jobs at fast food restaurants with classes. Aside from a $300 grant he received at the beginning of his first semester, he has supported himself, financially aided his family and paid his tuition all at once. When reflecting on how he managed to maintain employment and pass his classes, he says, “Sometimes, I would only get two hours sleep at night.”

Garcia says the work environment in the fast-food industry is extremely oppressive. According to Garcia, fellow employees thought it was impossible for him to be able to attend school and support himself. He also says that in previous jobs, management actively discouraged his seeking an education.

“I would lie to them (about my availability), because if they found out that I was in school they would have intentionally scheduled me during the time I had to go to class,” he says.

Garcia fought personal adversity and academic setbacks to succeed at PVCC. In 2001 he married a Cuban woman. After six months of marriage, his wife went to jail for drugs. They have been separated since, and Garcia plans to divorce her when she gets out of prison.

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	Photo by Travis Lane
	Garcia talks about the motivation and perseverance he needed to earn a bachelor of arts in sociology at ASU.
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His mother-in-law helped him maintain focus throughout the incarceration of his wife and the collapse of his marriage. Garcia also began attending Mass. “When I was having problems with my marriage, I decided to begin going to church every weekend. It helped to slow things down. After that, I began to understand the reasoning behind the things that were happening,” he says.

Throughout these personal trials, Garcia struggled to excel in school. Because of his lack of a previous education, his difficulty with operating technology and his language struggles, he was forced to repeat several classes more than once in order to pass them.

These setbacks worked to solidify Garcia’s work ethic and drive. The refusal to accept failure was rewarded when he graduated with an Associates of Arts degree in general studies from PVCC.

After enrolling at ASU and failing a class his first semester, Garcia was placed on academic probation. Determined to not be thrown out of the school, he began doing extra work with his teachers to get the grades to pass his classes.

In Dec. 2005, Garcia graduated from ASU with a bachelor of arts in sociology. When reflecting on the devotion he needed to master skills and graduate from college, he says that fear of failure played a role in his motivation. Although 120 credit hours are required to graduate, Garcia completed 170.

Garcia says he is now considering medical school because he wants to help people. As a kid growing up in Delicias, he was inspired by a local physician to become a doctor of geriatrics. In order to attain the proper credentials to apply to medical school, he will have to take another two years of science classes at PVCC. Garcia hopes to attend the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara in Jalisco, Mexico, and carries a pen from the university as a reminder of his goal.

Garcia says that if he does not become a doctor, he would like to be a teacher. He is currently taking a chemistry course at PVCC while working as the night shift manager at Taco Bell. In his spare time, Garcia says that he likes to watch American movies; but because of his schedule, he only goes to the theatre once a month.

When reflecting on how he managed to juggle the ample demands of his family, school, and work life, he says, “I used to have no fun at all.”