District VIII student spotlight on Jeannette de la Garza

Apr 2, 2015

Sometimes life has a funny way of shaking up our world and re-arranging our goals. Jeanette de la Garza, currently enrolled at the Felix Fraga Academic Campus of Houston Community College Southeast, can bear witness to the fact that challenges can help refocus our journeys to success.

One day in the middle of an exam, she received a call from the hospital informing her that six of her immediate family members were involved in a major car accident. Jeanette ran out of the classroom speechless and devastated. She said this was one of the most difficult moments of her life.

Overnight, she became a primary caretaker as her loved ones recuperated for the next two months. This did not take away from the fact that she was working part-time and going to school. She realized that her greatest challenge was not to only hold the family together; but, to also continue with her education.

Now, De la Garza, a graduate of Austin High School, will graduate this spring with her Associate of Arts in Computer Science. She will pursue a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems at the University of Houston. Once she is finished, De la Garza wants to serve her community by working with small businesses and schools to grow and provide new and innovative technology. De la Garza delights in becoming a part of the technological movement that continues to expand and change the way people live, hoping to help make the changes positive.

“I recognized that technology was something that came easy to me,” she said. “I have always been fascinated by the way technology, especially computers and laptops, have helped many businesses and schools to grow.”