Today we’d like to introduce you to Erika Garcia.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My story begins with the values that my parents have instilled in me. Over the years, I have learned from them: You don’t give up on yourself; you keep going because life keeps going. You work hard; you treasure the people around you, your opportunities, and the gift of time. I was the first in my family to graduate early, which allowed me to focus on my future. As a result of graduating early, at 16, I attended community college and started to explore job opportunities prior to transferring to the University of Houston.
Once I graduated from U of H, I searched for the “it” career. I always thought that I would be becoming an educator. However, God had a different plan for my life. I was offered a Call Center Coordinator position at the North Texas Food Bank in 2015. Since then, I have advanced my career, now being Senior Manager of Social Services.
I’ve always been the type of person to observe, analyze, and help others navigate. I am someone who tries to shine a light on others, and I want the best for the people around me. I look for ways I can best support a project or mission. I love to help people be in a better place. The organization I work for gives me the opportunity to teach others and make an impact in people’s lives and our community.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
In 2009, my parents and nephew were in an auto accident that left us in a difficult situation. My father was disabled, and my mother, being his caretaker and suffering her own limitations from the accident, both could not work. I was 18, in my second year of college, and was working two jobs because I had to help provide. With both of my older sisters having homes and families of their own, my parents relied on the help that I see so many people rely on now. It was not until 2011 that my father received income for his disability. The disability check was the only thing my parents had to pay bills, buy food, and support themselves. My education has always been important to me, and I wanted to make my parents proud and graduate from college. In 2012, I transferred to the University of Houston, and because my parents only had the income from disability, I did not want to ask them for help. I managed my time in Houston by both working and being a student full-time. It was challenging to say the least. My first winter break at U of H reminds me how much I did not know about college – you have to be able to laugh at yourself sometimes. I did not know that you could not be on campus during break, so here I was, in a new city, about to sleep in my car for a month because I could not afford to lose my job. I needed my job to support myself and my husband (who was incarcerated), and going back home for the winter was not an option. A co-worker opened her home to me during that winter. We are to this day really great friends. God will put people in your life; He never fails to do that.
That spring, I was more prepared in that I knew I needed an apartment until the fall. I found a month-to-month apartment. This is where I remember only having $6 to my name until the following check, and I would have to go hungry or go without light (having prepaid service). I didn’t even have furniture in my apartment. It was definitely a struggling time period I was going through that I didn’t realize I was going through.
Once I graduated in December 2014, I spent the next couple of months renting a couch, yes literally a couch, until I found a career that would take me back to Dallas. In April of 2015, I had the opportunity to come back to Dallas by taking a position as a legal assistant. Four months later, I was offered a position at the organization I am currently working.
One thing I would advise others in their journey is obstacles and challenges are going to happen, do not let circumstances corrupt your character. Know who you are and be yourself.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am currently working for the North Texas Food Bank as Senior Manager of Social Services. Our social services team is a proud community partner of Health and Human Services. We provide application assistance to state programs such as SNAP, Medicaid, and TANF through our Case Assistance Navigators. We are onsite at many agencies around NTFB’s 13 county service area, but we also have a call center team to assist neighbors by phone. Neighbors can also opt into our referral partner program to receive assistance with additional resources, such as food, clothing, jobs, and more.
I coordinate program activities, content development, and processes to promote accessibility, growth, and continuous improvement of our SNAP program. I specialize in virtual assistance and virtual platforms as I manage the Call Center.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
My favorite childhood memory would have to be visiting my grandparents in El Paso, Texas. I loved seeing my mother’s side of the family since we only went once a year during the summer. I loved staring at the mountains and being in the quietness of my grandparents’ home. I miss the 12-hour drives and mini stops along the way to other relatives surrounding the way in Odessa and New Mexico.
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