Manuela Garcia was born in El Salvador and migrated to the United States with her family to San Francisco, CA at the age of 9. Upon arriving to San Francisco, Manuela and her family moved around frequently due to issues with housing and rent. Adjusting to a new language and the different cultures in the United States were challenging, but Manuela was determined to learn English and adjust to life in America. Seeing her father’s grueling work in construction motivated Manuela to pursue her goals and continue with her education to have a better future.

Manuela is a recent graduate from Skyline College where she obtained her Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education. She is continuing her education at San Francisco State University, where she will get her bachelors in education. As a first-generation college graduate coming from a low-income household, Manuela is deeply passionate about making a difference in the education system by helping less privileged students.

During her time at Skyline College, Manuela volunteered at the Dream Center where she helped incoming undocumented students navigate community college, and acted as a resource to families and students. Manuela was also part of the Undocumented Students and Allies club where she recruited and helped organized events.

For the DreamSF Fellowship, Manuela has been placed at Mission Graduates. Mission Graduates is a non-profit organization that provides in school, summer school and after school programs for low-income youth and families which helps them achieve higher education. At Mission Graduates, Manuela assists with administrative paperwork, creating and posting job descriptions, and helps coordinate and participate in interviews.

Like many immigrants, Manuela learned firsthand the injustices the immigrant community faces. She is passionate about helping her community and advocating for immigrant rights. In her free time, Manuela likes to spend time with her family and friends, go to the movies and exercising.