Bryan Garcia remembers the room.
Until he was about 5 years old, Garcia shared a single rented room in Washington with his parents, Jose Garcia and Antonia Guzman, and his younger sister Karen.
“We all shared a room,” Garcia said. “We all slept in the room.”
Today, his family’s life looks far different from the apartment he remembers from childhood. His younger sister, Karen, now attends Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, and his 7-month-old brother, Elias, has been “such a blessing,” he said.
This fall, Garcia will become the first in his family to attend college as he heads to the University of Notre Dame to study mechanical engineering after graduating from Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park, Maryland.
Garcia said watching his parents, who immigrated from El Salvador as teenagers, work to build a stable life for their family motivated him throughout high school.
“I love my parents,” Garcia said. “I appreciate their hard work, sacrifice and everything they’ve done for our family.”
His father had to leave school after sixth grade to work.
“Education was just something that he had to abandon,” Garcia said.
“When they saw me accepted to college and now committed, that’s something they’ve never seen before,” Garcia said. “I’m living their dream, and I’m blessed, truly.”
Garcia said his parents’ sacrifices shaped the way he understands the American dream.
“I think the American dream is just fairness,” Garcia said. “Not guaranteed success, but the opportunity to pursue it. Through hard work, my parents gave my siblings and me opportunities they never had.”
“That’s why I’m eternally grateful,” he added. “When you have a mindset of appreciation, you value what you have.”
Garcia said Don Bosco Cristo Rey helped build his confidence as much as his education.
“My journey with self-confidence and self-esteem, it’s been a wild one,” Garcia said. “Don Bosco really helped with that because it exposes students to opportunities.”
Through Don Bosco Cristo Rey’s Corporate Work Study Program, Garcia found himself in rooms he once would have considered out of reach. He interned with Transwestern, then with the office of Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland, where he answered constituent calls, processed requests and conducted legislative research. Last summer he served as a Senate page inside the U.S. Capitol, preparing desks, delivering materials and collecting remarks from the Senate floor.
“It shocked me how real it was,” Garcia said. “It’s not abstract anymore. It’s literally happening right in front of me.”
At a donor gala, the once-shy student interviewed Don Bosco Cristo Rey President Mark Shriver, before an audience of business leaders and elected officials.
“I was a shy person hosting a talk show in front of professionals and congressmen,” Garcia said. “You can imagine the pressure.”
Garcia said experiences like that changed the way he understood confidence.
“Confidence can’t be based solely on achievement,” Garcia said. “We’re all made in the image and likeness of God, and we all have dignity.”
Faith remains central to Garcia’s life.
Outside school and internships, Garcia spends much of his time playing drums and bass, performing at school events and church services.
He also tutors students through Don Bosco Cristo Rey’s Writing Center and volunteers at the food pantry at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, where he helps translate for Spanish-speaking families.
“I don’t think there’s going to be anything like it, to play instruments, to play something that I really enjoy naturally, but for God and for the church.”
Though music remains important to him, at Notre Dame, Garcia chose to study mechanical engineering, drawn to both design and the stability the field can provide.
“I want a career where I could build things, be creative, and help support my family,” he said.
As Garcia prepares to leave for Notre Dame this fall, he said he hopes other young people, especially children of immigrants, recognize what is possible.
“I know anybody can do it,” Garcia said. “I know that because I’ve done it. You are capable, but ultimately you have to build that confidence for yourself.”
