The Immigration Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA) has launched a new campaign – called I’M IIBA – uplifting what we know to be the true character and positive contributions of immigrants in the Bay Area.
This week we highlight the inspirational story of Susana Garcia.
I’M Susana
I am a people person and I’m an extrovert. And that means I can be a little loud sometimes! I’ve been that way. When I was a kid, they called me “perica” (parakeet in Spanish) because I was always talking, talking, talking…
I studied computer engineering but then realized that would require being behind a computer screen the rest of my life. And I was like, I can’t do that. I need to interact with people!
For the past 15 years, I’ve worked at On The Move – a nonprofit in Napa. An organization that supports the most marginalized and disconnected members in our community.
I thrive to have human connection in my work and love to know that I’m making a difference in somebody’s life.
I’M AN IMMIGRANT
I was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, but I have no memory of living there. My earliest memory is at three years old, living in Long Beach. I just started preschool and remember we did hand painting. It was amazing! I just remember having so much fun connecting with other kids in the classroom and knowing that I can be creative in my own way.
I always knew I was undocumented. My parents never hid that from us.
My dad was as young as 16 or 17 when he began coming back and forth between Mexico and the States, working in agriculture. My parents met really young. My mom had me when she was 18. I’m the oldest of my siblings. My parents said they always dreamed of raising our family in California. And so they brought me and my brother when I was two and he was about a year old. And so I went through elementary school in Southern California until fourth grade when we moved to the Bay Area.
I’M FROM A RESILIENT FAMILY
Being the oldest, my parents and siblings depended on me a lot. Even when I was in elementary school, I remember my mom taking me to doctor’s appointments and me trying to interpret what the doctors were saying, doing things like that for my parents because they didn’t speak English and weren’t tech savvy.
My parents were seeking ways to become Citizens. Unfortunately, right after I graduated from high school and enrolled in Napa Valley College, a lawyer misrepresented my parents, leading to their deportation.I ended up taking guardianship of my youngest sister for her to finish out high school.
That was really hard. But that’s really what led me to where I’m at today. I know there’s so many families like mine who are trying to find the American dream. I really enjoy helping others get through that struggle.
I’M A MOM, A COACH (AND A NERD)!
Now that I’m a mom of three kids, the most important thing for me is that my kids know that they are resilient… they’re strong… they’re powerful… and they’re going to accomplish great things in this world as well.
I love coaching. Last year I coached a women’s leadership group of moms, a lot of whom were also Latina and undocumented.
I enjoy working on the development and infrastructure side of things, especially where my tech skills can come in handy. I enjoy new projects and love to think about what it’s going to take for us to get this off the ground and launch.
I’m the one who’s like, what are we doing first? What’s the timeline? Agenda? I’m very detail-oriented, and I actually enjoy spreadsheets and systems development. Yes, I’m a nerd!
I’M IIBA
Everything you could possibly think from my entire journey as an immigrant, IIBA has supported me along the way. I believe I was one of the first IIBA clients to do the advanced parole in the first year DACA came out.
I married my husband who’s a US citizen and I’m a permanent resident now. IIBA is helping me through my citizenship, which I just applied for. IIBA covered the cost of that so I didn’t have to worry about that burden.
Everybody in the IIBA Napa office has been so supportive. They’re all so sweet there’s no judgment. They just have incredibly spent so much time and dedication. IIBA is also helping with my parents’ case. And because of IIBA I’ve been able to travel to Mexico and visit them when I couldn’t for many, many years. And so it has just made our lives so much fuller and just healthier and as a whole, we’re all just so much more successful now because of those opportunities that IIBA has helped us with.
Thanks to IIBA, I’m very optimistic and hopeful that we’re going to be reunited as a whole family soon.