Immigration reality

Published September 26, 2023

First-year Spanish classes at St. Joseph High School in Conway have been learning about Hispanics in North America. A guest speaker recently came to teacher Carina Martinez's class. Osmar Garcia was born in Jalisco, Mexico, but moved to the U.S. when he was 8 years old. His family first settled in California but later moved to Morrilton.

"Mr. Garcia told my students about the challenges he faced being the only Mexican student in his school and not being able to speak English," Martinez said. "It took him about six months to learn the language."

Garcia shared stories and photos with the students about his growing up years that included his participation in school activities. He later became the first member of his family to graduate from college after he received his degree from the University of Central Arkansas. He and his wife Morgan's three daughters, Ava, Addyson and Sophia are students at St. Joseph Elementary School. The family is expecting a baby boy in January. 

Garcia is the co-founder and CEO of Garcia's Wealth Management-Northwestern Mutual. 

"He's proud to be in America," Martinez said. "He's blessed to have the opportunities he's had that would not be reachable in Mexico."