Last summer, Aliento selected 7 talented and brilliant students to make up the second cohort of Aliento’s Fellowship. Throughout the academic year, you have seen them be featured on our Aliento Voices, our social media, local and national news, and active members of the Aliento Team. The conclusion of this month will bring with it the end of their Fellowships with Aliento and, to honor their dedication to the organization, we will be featuring them on our blog. Here is one of the Aliento Fellows:

1. Introduce yourself!

Hello! My name is Denise Garcia and I was born and raised in Mesa, Arizona. I am a graduating senior from Mesa High School!

2. How did you hear about Aliento, and why did you choose Aliento?

It was summer of 2017, I was 14 years old, my sister had just graduated high school and as she prepared to attend Mesa Community College as a DACA student she found out that in-state tuition for Dreamers in Arizona was going through the courts. This motivated her to go out into the community and do everything she could to make sure students like herself could have access to in-state tuition. She looked up events on Facebook regarding DACA and in-state tuition and the first event that came out was an event at the MCCCD building where Aliento would be present at. Being younger and not directly impacted by the issue, I really didn’t understand what this all meant, however, I still joined my sister to support her and be there for her. After educating myself on how important this issue was and how many individuals were impacted by this, it inspired me to do something more and get more involved with Aliento as well. I started out by attending the campaign kickoff in August of 2018 and this is where I got more heavily involved with Aliento. Reflecting back now, it’s amazing to hear everything that Aliento has done since to get closer to make sure students like my sister can have a more accessible pathway to instate tuition and publicly funded scholarships.

3. What are some of the things you’ve learned as a fellow? Why was it important?

During my time as a fellow I‘ve learned some pretty valuable leadership lessons, one of them being, assume positive intent. This phrase wasn’t new to me when I joined the fellowship but the fellowship was where I actually understood the value behind this. It’s important to always keep in mind that you’re a work in progress and the reason as to why someone might be pointing something out in your leadership is because they are trying to help you grow as a person.

4. What are some moments within the fellowship that you are most proud of?

A particular moment from the fellowship that I am super proud of is when Aliento and the Fellows transitioned to working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a fellow your main goal is to raise awareness about the campaign on your school campus, but how do you do this from home? There were definitely some very challenging moments we faced while doing this but somehow we managed to keep raising awareness on the campaign during times like these.

5. Besides Aliento, what else were you involved with at school? What did you?

Besides being the President of the Aliento Hub at Mesa High School, I also served as the President of DECA, a student organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. During my junior and senior years, I served as the student representative for my grade level on the Student Improvement Advisory Council at Mesa High. I was also an editor for the yearbook my freshman and sophomore years.

6. Would you recommend the fellowship? Why?

100%, yes. Being an Aliento fellow was an amazing experience and definitely helped me become a stronger leader. It helped me see so many things from so many different perspectives and approaches. I am so thankful I had the opportunity to do this.

7. What’s next for you?

In the fall, I will be attending Mesa Community College on an Honors Scholarship to eventually transfer to Arizona State University. I will for sure be around and continue to fight to make sure all Arizona high school graduates have access to instate tuition and publicly funded scholarships regardless of immigration status by staying involved with the Aliento Hubs at those two schools.