2021’s most interesting | “My parents have always been super supportive”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The 21st year of the millennium was expected to be a time of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of normal, 2021 gave us more of the same as 2020 with vaccinations, face mask requirements and more COVID-19 deaths. There were people who stood out during the year because of their work, accomplishments or their impact. Vida en el Valle selected the 10 most interesting people of 2021. Here is No. 10:
Chosen from a group of nine Undergraduate Dean’s Medalist, Nuvia García, of Turlock was selected as the President’s Medalist, Fresno State’s top honor for an undergraduate student this year.
She is graduated from Fresno State with a bachelor’s degree in criminology, forensic behavioral science option, and a minor in Spanish with a 3.97 GPA, graduating with the highest honors summa cum laude.
When García got a Zoom call informing her she won one of the Fresno State’s top academic honors, she could not help shedding tears of joy for the President’s Medal.
Then-Interim President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval – who was joined by interim provost Xuanning Fu on the May 11 surprise call – said the university was “incredibly proud” of García “who has continued to strive for excellence despite all the challenges.”
“My parents have always been super supportive. They came from México when they were young without anything, without knowing any English. And now they have given us everything that we needed. They are definitely one of my greatest inspirations and my motivations to continue moving forward,” Garcia said during the call.
Garcia’s parents, Felipe and María Guadalupe García, are from Tecolotlán, Jalisco. Her father is a truck driving company owner/operator while her mom takes care of the bookkeeping and paperwork.
Garcia is a first-generation college student who became interested in criminology after a friend got involved with drugs, criminal activity and then took his own life. Her own struggles almost got the best of her, too.
Garcia is pursuing her master’s degree in clinical counseling and a license as a professional clinical counselor at Fresno State, and then wants to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology.
