This is a big weekend for Randi Garcia.
On Friday, she’ll be in the Skydome with her family, cheering for her daughter, Justiss Green, who is graduating with a degree in strategic communication.
And on Saturday, she’ll be back in the Skydome, wearing her own robes this time, her family cheering as she graduates with a degree in elementary education—a goal that started decades ago but had to be put on hold as life got complicated.
“I always knew I wanted to go back and finish what I started, not just for career reasons but to prove to myself and my kids that dreams are worth chasing, even if life delays them,” Garcia said.
Garcia connected with NAU as part of the Arizona Teachers Academy (ATA), which is aimed at reducing the teacher shortage in the state. The ATA not only offers scholarships to teachers staying in Arizona after graduation but also provides built-in mentorship and support while students are enrolled and after they graduate. She applied, was accepted and started taking online classes from her home in Florence.
However, working more school into an already busy life—Garcia is a mom of four, a full-time teacher and takes care of her parents— wasn’t easy. A first-generation student, she powered through the busy times, juggling deadlines, lesson plans, grading papers, parenting and homework. She didn’t sleep as much as she wanted and missed events she wanted to attend.
“There were so many nights I stayed up working on assignments after helping with homework, cooking dinner and prepping for the next school day,” Garcia said. “I went through some deeply personal family challenges during this time, including moments that nearly made me stop altogether. But my children were always watching and I didn’t want them to see me give up. I wanted to prove to myself and my kids that dreams are worth chasing, even if life delays them.”
She took classes online with her time already in the classroom counting for the student teaching requirement. Garcia applied what she learned in her college classes to her own classroom of middle school students, and she took her experiences in her classroom and worked them into her own assignments. In addition to maintaining a 4.0 GPA, she passed all of the necessary qualifying exams.
Two Lumberjacks, one house
It’s not unusual to find two Lumberjacks in one Arizona household. It’s a little more unusual to see a mother and daughter graduate at the same time. It was almost an inside joke for Garcia and Green.
“We’ve encouraged each other, laughed about how different our class styles are and even struggled through a few hard semesters together,” Garcia said. “Now we’re both graduating in May—something I never imagined happening at the same time. It’s one of the most special moments I’ll ever experience.”
“It’s honestly so surreal—like, what are the odds?” Green added. “It’s been such a cool experience to go through college at the same time as my mom, and now we get to celebrate that together. We’ve definitely joked about who’s the ‘real star’ of the weekend.”
Besides swapping stories about professors and class assignments and learning to relate to each other in a new way, Green said it was inspiring to watch her mother chase this dream. It helped her chase her own dreams, which included a bucket-list study abroad experience in Athens, Greece. Green took classes and added a few more stamps to her passport, including Italy and Ireland.
“I love history, and being surrounded by ancient ruins and such a rich culture was unreal,” she said. “That trip pushed me out of my comfort zone in the best way and really gave me confidence to explore the world more. My advice if you are looking into study abroad is to literally just do it—don’t even think twice about it.”
Green took advantage of her on-campus experiences too, enjoying the natural beauty of northern Arizona, including quintessential study sessions in the north quad. She found support among her professors and peers at NAU’s Flagstaff Mountain campus.
What’s next
Garcia has no plans to slow down. After graduation, she’ll still be teaching in Florence, plus she’s going back to school again, this time for a master of public administration degree at NAU.
“I’m passionate about advocacy and system change, especially around equity and support for teachers and students,” she said. “I hope to one day be in a position where I can help shape the policies that impact classrooms every day.”
Green wants to work at a public relations firm or in social media for a lifestyle or wellness brand—something people-focused that gives her the chance to put what she’s learned to use. But maybe not just yet.
“I’m also not ruling out more travel,” she said. “I’d love to keep exploring before I fully settle into a 9-to-5 for sure.”
Heidi Toth | NAU Communications
(928) 523-8737 | heidi.toth@nau.edu