After almost two years of working at the UF’s Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures, Director Olivia Garcia plans to return to her hometown of El Paso, Texas.
Garcia will be going to the University of Texas at El Paso to work at their graduate school.
Her last day is today, and ambassadors and staff of the Institute hosted a going-away party for Garcia on Wednesday.
During her time as director, the staff of the Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures, also known as La Casita, has tripled.
Garcia was also responsible for fundraising more than $10,000 to increase La Casita’s operating budget and sat on UF’s board of directors for the Multicultural & Diversity Student Affairs division.
“As the director of Hispanic-Latino Cultures, my job is to promote safety, community and inclusion on a predominately white campus,” Garcia said.
During Garcia’s term as director, Joselin Padron-Rasines, a former ambassador for MCDA, became Student Body president at UF.
“Through La Casita, as a person it made me more aware about issues that impacted the Hispanic-Latino community,” Padron-Rasines said, “and it made me stronger and more aware about my identity and how I can better help others around me, and that’s when I became really social-justice oriented and more about being aware about others and caring about what happens within my community.”
Christopher Wilde, an ambassador at La Casita, is sad to see Garcia go.
“It is kind of nerve-wracking to see a director leave,” Wilde said. “I feel uneasy about it.”
Although Wilde is excited about the expansion being made to the Reitz Union, he also wants to make sure that the space at La Casita is still valued.
“When I came to La Casita I instantly fell in love with the people, the environment, the welcoming space, the food, the jokes, the laughter and friends,” Wilde said. “It all just made it so comfortable.”
Garcia is sad to leave knowing she could have achieved so much more.
“This is a home away from home for students,” Garcia said, “and it was for me as well.”
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 6/4/15]
Olivia Garcia says goodbye to 19-year-old UF biology junior Timmi Tan at a farewell reception in Garcia's honor at La Casita Wednesday. "You can tell she's very driven and passionate about what she does," said Tan, who started working with Garcia at La Casita this semester.
