Content warning: Odalys’ story concerns cancer, poverty and racial discrimination. If you or someone you love are looking for support, contact Student Counseling Services at 515-294-5056.

Odalys Garcia is a junior studying elementary education. In this installment of “Humans of Iowa State,” she shared her story with the university and began the Humans of Iowa State series. 

“I was born in Mexico, Jalisco,” Garcia said. “My family was pretty poor over there but we were still, I thought we were well off, but looking back I’m like, ‘Oh, we probably weren’t as well off as I thought.’ But it was still nice.”

Garcia detailed her experiences of moving to the U.S. at a young age, learning to speak English and finding her passion at Iowa State. 

“My dad kept on moving back and forth from the U.S. because he was working and sending money, and [eventually] he would come back,” Garcia said. “So I missed him for a long time during my childhood. My mom worked in a little clothes shop that we had, so that was cute.”

Garcia discussed the hardships that have impacted her and her family and how she has remained optimistic despite the tough times.

“Finally, when I was eight, my dad was able to get the papers for us, too,” Garcia said. “Our residency. When I was eight years old, in second grade, we moved to the U.S., and we ended up in this tiny town called Royal, Iowa.”

To end the film, Garcia reflected on her experiences at Iowa State. She discussed whether she felt she had a diverse community to support her when she first came to campus and how she feels attending her dream university.

“There were probably like 500 residents in the whole town at that point,” Garcia said. “My family was the only Spanish-speaking family in the town and the school district. So that was tough.”

To have a chance to be the next Human of Iowa State, apply using this link.

To view Garcia’s story, click the watch link at the top of the article.