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Tuesday, March 27, 2001
Parents and children urged her to finish school
Janie Garcia continues quest for education, better job
By Paula Caballero
Caller-Times
Christina Garcia, 16, remembers the day her mother decided to go back to school.
   "We had a big family discussion. We all sat down and she told us she wanted to finish what she had started," Christina said. "We all said good for her. We want you to finish high school and go on to college."
   Janie Garcia, 37, did not have a typical teen-age life. Consequently, she did not follow a typical educational path. But 10 years after dropping out of high school, she returned. She passed the General Educational Development test, and then earned her associate's degree in accounting from Del Mar College.

Janie Garcia

   More important to Garcia, she set an example for her three children.
   "I didn't think she could do it and she showed all of us," Christina said. "It just proves that no matter where you are, you can find a way. It doesn't matter about money or anything. At the time, we didn't have enough money, but she finished and it's amazing. She did a really good job."
   Garcia, who grew up in Mathis, was married at 13 and had her first child at 15. But neither caused her to drop out of high school. In fact, through a homebound program where a tutor came to Garcia's house while she was pregnant, her grades went up.
   Education was a priority in her family.
   "My parents always emphasized school," Garcia said. "Even if we were sick, they sent us to school. I'd be like, 'I'm dying here.' And they'd say 'You have to go to school. You're not going to die. And if you die, it's OK. At least you'll die smart.' "
   But when Garcia and her husband, Manuel, moved so he could work in Brenham, they lived on the outskirts of town and had just one car. He needed the car to get to work, so Janie - just one semester shy of her diploma - never finished high school.
   Garcia said it was Manuel who encouraged her to go back to school, 10 years and three children after she dropped out.
   "I think he mentioned it and it got her thinking," Christina said. "That was very important for Dad. I think he felt it was his fault she didn't finish."
   Garcia was apprehensive when she started the GED classes. She worried she wouldn't fit in.
   "I thought I was going to be the grandma of the bunch," Garcia said. "But there were people a lot older than I was. It was nice to have other people who had families and other things to do besides school. They had a life. They were trying to do the same thing I was."
   She passed the GED test, missing just two answers. She decided to keep going and earned a scholarship to Del Mar College. So while Manuel worked in the trucking business to support the family, Garcia and their three children all continued to concentrate on school.
   "The four of us would sit down and do homework together at the kitchen table," Garcia said. "We'd eat first, then do homework."
   Garcia found school difficult, and said she had to read everything three and four times to be sure she understood. Many nights, she studied until 2 or 3 a.m., only to wake up at 5 a.m. to get her kids ready for school.
   "My husband was on the road all the time, around the state, around the country, so I was taking care of the kids, the house and my elderly parents," Garcia said. "There was no time for TV, no time to buy a new dress for one of the girls."
   When Garcia graduated with her associate's degree, it was an emotional day for the family.
   "There's nothing better than watching someone you love get something they want so bad," Christina Garcia said. "I have nothing but pride for her and happiness for where she's at. She has some big obstacles to overcome."
   After receiving her associate's degree, Garcia started her bachelor's degree. She put that on hold in 1996 to go to work. She first worked as a bookkeeper for a welding supply company. From there, she went to Stewart Title where she started as a bookkeeper, but later ended up assigned to work in marketing on an Internet site for the company.
   Although she initially had no computer skills, she learned her way around the program and became so proficient she was able to help the real estate agents improve their computer skills.
   Last year, Janie Garcia was recognized as Affiliate of the Year by the San Patricio Board of Realtors. Her goal is to become president of Stewart Title.
   Christina said she and her siblings learned from their mother's example that there is an easier road to success. Christina said she thinks all three kids will graduate from high school and college. Janie's older daughter, Erika, 21, is a senior attending Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio.
   "My son has told me several times he's determined to do two things," Garcia said. "One is graduate high school and the other is graduate from college, and that I better stick around for both of them. Well, I'm not going anywhere."
   Garcia is still on her learning quest. Her next stop is finishing her bachelor's degree. She's toying with the idea of a double major in accounting and marketing.
   "I'm not done. I don't like starting something and not finishing."


Staff writer Paula Caballero can be reached at 886-3758 or by e-mail at caballerop@caller.com

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