Lucia Garcia-Mendoza

I'm a program advisor with the Merced County Office of Education, where I provide support to school districts throughout our county. The main program I support is the Tobacco Use Prevention Education Grant, where I provide support around drug awareness and vaping prevention, connecting that with my previous experience in law enforcement and my knowledge around the county issues with drug use. I bring that knowledge in to support our districts and provide awareness to our schools. Besides that program, I support other programs like social-emotional learning and different programs throughout our schools, so every day looks a bit different depending on what the schools might need. The main idea is just supporting schools and providing professional development training. I also go out to support some of our local high schools with their career technical education programs, specifically forensics, because that was my previous career background. For the last almost 5 years, I've been supporting a school with their forensics classes and connecting students with what that career field looks like. We've had some students that are now pursuing careers in law enforcement and have been accepted at some universities across the nation. I'm just continuing that education, connecting them to that career field, and opening doors for opportunities for them to explore. When I go out to the high school more often now, them seeing me and being like 'oh, hey, Ms. Garcia,' even though I might not be there every day, for that one time that I get to see them and just connect with them a bit and see how things are going and checking in, it's awesome.