 episode of In The Studio at Davis Media Act. My name is Lynn Weaver. Today I am Destiny Garcia. Thank you so much for coming in Destiny. Thank you for having me. You are a PhD candidate in the department in the US, UC Davis department of mechanical and aerospace engineering. Yes. That in itself is very impressive. Thank you. But what is striking is that you're also a former foster child. That's true. And that your background must have, in your background, you must have faced many challenges. So could you tell me, Destiny, how does your background as a foster child impact your life today as an adult and a wonderful scientist? Well, since I was in foster care at a really young age, I felt like I was like a sponge. You know, everything that happened around me, my learning, my development. I was just a sponge and I soaked it all up. So I feel like being in foster care at a young age and just seeing everything around me, a lot of my values come from when I was in foster care or at that early age. I feel like I'm more empathetic. I can empathize with many people across different ranges and boards. I know how to think outside of the box related to engineering, but also just in life. I know that I had a different background, but I made it to the same spot as other people who are here in the same space as me today. So it's really helped shape me like how I think, how I motivated and just how I encounter and talk to other people around me. As a human being, yes. Were you a foster child with other children? Yes. Were you close to your parents, to your foster parents? Yes. So I was in foster care twice. When I was around three years old, around that age, I went into the foster care system for the first time with my other siblings as well. I'm one of seven siblings and at the time, only six siblings were here. And I went into the foster care system and I lived with my older sister and my older brother, my biological brother and sister. And then there was also another foster child there in the house that I was at. And then we got reunited with my parents and then they kind of messed up again. So we got back into the system. And then that time, my little brother was born and they wanted me to go with him to a foster home. And I didn't want to go with him because I didn't know him. He was just born, he was just a baby. And then I ended up going with my younger sister and my younger brother in a house that had other foster children as well. Where was this? In Fairfield, California. Are you originally from California? I'm originally from California. I was born in Woodland, California, so not too far from here. And I lived most of my life in Fairfield, California. And did you speak English at birth with your parents? Yes, I spoke English. And then just with like my family members, like my grandma, my aunts and uncles, Spanish. Spanish, yes. Would you say you were well treated as a foster child? Yes. I was very lucky and very blessed that I got put into the two different foster homes that I was in. They were great foster parents. I'm still in contact with them today. I call them my grandma Lucy and my grandma Betty. So they're your family. They treated me so well, yes. They're my family, yes. So you were one of the lucky ones as a foster child. Are you still in contact with your biological parents now? Yes. After the second time of being in foster care, my parents fully buckled down and did everything that the court ordered them to do. And then we finally got reunited for the second time and that time being the last time I was in foster care. And so I'm mostly in contact with my biological mom since then. I got out of foster care when I was about five to six years old. So I was in there for a short period of time. And after that, I've been with my biological parents and siblings. And it's been an interesting family dynamic. When you take everyone, you split them apart and then you come back together. I would say I have a very interesting family dynamic. And when you say interesting family dynamic, is it you had to make a lot of adjustments? Oh, yes. Yes. Adjustments, the relationships that you have with your siblings or older siblings, your younger siblings. The first time around when I was in foster care, I was with my older siblings. So I was the baby, the youngest in that group. The second time around, I was the oldest with my two younger siblings. So I was the older sibling. So once you get put back together, once the puzzle is re-put together, I kind of felt like, am I an older sister or a little sister? Or where do I fit in now in this family puzzle? It's a fascinating story. But I'm so glad you were lucky and that you were reunited with your parents and your parents decided to become responsible and take care of their family. That's wonderful. Were there any challenging moments? In foster care? Oh, yes. For example. So for example, when you're a kid who is taken away from everything that you know, even if your parents are bad or they do bad things, for some reason, you still want your parents. You still want your mom and your dad. So being in foster care, at least the first time around, it was hard being a little kid, just wanting my parents. I just wanted to go with them. And at the time, I didn't know that maybe the things that they were doing were bad. I just wanted mom and dad. That's all you knew. Yes. Yes. And I can hear a little bit of emotion in your voice as you say that. So it's still marking you. Yeah. And just think of kids who are really young, separated from their families. They don't understand. Well, we have a very cruel example at the moment with the immigration debacle, that it's being caused by the administration and separating the children from the families, which is really unthinkable. Yeah. I can totally feel for them. Well, I understand. Yes. And I hope that they will soon be reunited. That's the main thing. And did you tell anyone, or maybe I should ask, what brought you to UC Davis? You must have been a really good student. I was. I was just one of those kids who was very tenacious. I wanted to just learn and be successful. In my head, success was like not being in jail, not being in drugs, not being in a gang. That was like success for me. So if all I had to do was do my homework and turn it in the next day, and I got good grade, I was going to be fine. It was bottom line for you. It was wonderful. Yeah. And so it just came a second nature to just do well in school, succeed. I did sports. I did extracurricular activities. I was always just staying out of trouble. I knew there was something more to life than just being in Fairfield, California. Oh, wonderful. Wonderful. You must have been very good in math. I was. And you still are. I still am. So what made you apply to UC Davis? So UC Davis was that one university that was on our way, you know, if we went to Sacramento, I always saw it on the freeway. Yes. And I don't remember which age I was, but I told myself, I'm going to go to that university. And I did. I applied right after high school. That's very, very interesting news. I mean, UC Davis should advertise more on the highway. Yeah. I just remember seeing the water tower from the freeway when you're passing UC Davis. It says UC Davis on it. And I just always pictured myself going to UC Davis. Did you tell when you arrived at UC Davis, did you tell anyone about your background? No. It was kind of one of those things. Why not? You just kind of like kept it quiet. At that time, at that age I was, I still was a little bit ashamed or like, you know, embarrassed of being a former foster kid. That's what I heard from other former foster children. Yes. Because there is that feeling that you were somewhat abandoned by your parents. Yes. And I also think that not a lot of people really understand what it means to go through foster care. So they think that like, oh, my parents are horrible. And yes, you know, they have all these judgments. They assume the worst right away. Yes. That is so illuminating, you know, what you're saying. And what advice would you give to a child in foster care at the moment? At the moment, your struggles of today will only make you more successful tomorrow. Like going through trials and tribulations just make you a stronger person. And it makes everything more valuable. Yes. Graduating high school, more valuable. Graduating college, more valuable. Going to graduate school is more valuable. And that is because it's a motivation that comes from within rather than being forced upon you by parents or your surroundings. It's something that either you have it or you don't have it. Yes. And I would say, if you're a form of foster youth, you have it. Yes. Or if you're in foster care right now, you have it. You have it. You have it. Yeah. And it's lovely to hear your story because I hope it will be an encouragement for other children or adults who have been in the same situation as you and who perhaps have doubts, self-doubts about themselves. Yeah. So that is, what are your plans for the future? When will you become a Dr. Garcia? Well, I'm hoping that this is my last year in grad school, so finishing up my last year. Hopefully next June, I'll be Dr. Garcia. My goals, like my ultimate goal is to become a professor in engineering, mechanical engineering. Just to be in that platform where I can represent a lot of different backgrounds and have a student look up to me and say, there's a brown woman and I can see myself in her. I would love to be a professor reaching out to other students. That sounds wonderful. Anything you'd like to add that you would like people to know, especially? Sometimes I just tell people I'm just an ordinary person. I go to sleep wake up every day just like you do. And I just have a smile. If more people would smile more, I think the world would be a happier place. That's lovely. And also, one final question because I'm afraid our time is wrapping up. It's amazing how 15 minutes go by very fast. Have you heard of a lot of abuse in foster care? I've heard stories. My older siblings, their second time around, they didn't have as happy a story as their first time around. And to this day, I've heard stories where the foster parents abuse the resources that are given to them for the children. Yes. It's been a problem because I believe the law is they're given a stipend for the child, but sometimes the stipend goes... They keep it as an income. They try to use for themselves. Yes. But I think there's a lot more awareness now. And there are a lot of people working towards making the laws more just. Well, I'm afraid our time is up. Thank you so much. Thank you for coming in. And good luck to you. Thank you. May all your dreams come true. Thank you. And thank you all for watching from all of us here at Davis Media. See you next time.