First-Gen Public Relations Student Dives Head First into her College Experience

Public Relations junior Camila Garcia racks her brain as she recalls an impressive, resume-worthy list of organizations and other commitments she’s had during her time at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. Vice President of the Hispanic Communicators Association, account supervisor for the student-run agency Alpha PR, and VP of chapter development for PRSSA, Garcia holds her fair share of notable executive positions. And this is just her third semester at the College.

A testament to the power of a first-generation student.

Garcia, born in Spain with family origins in Cuba, came to Miami when she was six years old. With her move came an opportunity that her parents had stressed early on.

Garcia says that like many other immigrant parents, they always urged her to do well in school and to pursue higher education when the time came. However, by the time Garcia’s high school career was coming to a close, she faced her first roadblock.

“[My parents] didn’t know anything of the college application process. They had no idea. I had no idea about any actual colleges,” Garcia says.

She quickly researched the best colleges around Florida and that’s when she found UF. Just her luck, her high school organized a trip for college tours and she was able to get familiar with the campus and all it had to offer. Garcia says she fell in love with it.

“I’m just really thankful for the fact we got that tour because not having parents that knew anything about the college application process was insanely overwhelming,” she said.

Garcia did receive guidance from teachers, counselors as well as other first-generation peers that were going through a similar situation and felt less alone in the process.

Unfortunately, attending UF was still an uphill battle as her first application as a high school student was not accepted. Rather than appeal or give up entirely on the university, she was advised to apply as a transfer student. So, she earned her associate’s degree at Miami Dade College while still in high school. And after one more go at submitting an application, she was officially accepted.

“It’s something that makes your family so proud,” Garcia said. “My mom was texting Cuba, texting everyone that I was accepted to UF.”

Garcia shares the mix of emotions she had knowing that she would be diving into uncharted territory for her family and herself. She felt pressure to perform well in school and to report back to her family with any endeavor, big or small, she was taking on.

She quickly found her place while attending her first PR class, Principles of Public Relations. This is where she met Public Relations Professional-in-Residence Christine Bucan, who was one of the first people to make an impact on her.

It was through Bucan’s class that she discovered Noticias WUFT, the Spanish-language news broadcast on campus, and knew she had found her community. Bucan was crucial in motivating her to get there.

“Professor Bucan believed in me since day one, and she said, ‘If you have an opportunity to do Spanish news, you need to do it and you’re going to be all the better for it,’” Garcia said.

This gave her the confidence to branch out and continue to find more people and more organizations to get involved in. Alpha PR was among them, where she met fellow PR student Cecilia Edelberg, who also instilled confidence in her.

Garcia’s involvement expanded further with a job she landed as a student assistant for the Public Relations Department, working for Administrative Specialist Isabella Ryan and Department Chair Myiah Hutchens.

“They saw the worth in me,” Garcia said.

She shared how she struggled with imposter syndrome throughout her college career, but how she also felt lucky to be uplifted by peers, staff and faculty. This allowed her to get past her doubts about getting involved, and soon after getting to work and applying her skills.

Whether it’s getting to enthusiastically provide a tour for students as a Journalism and Communications Ambassador or coming up with creative projects for Alpha PR, she has found numerous outlets to build up her experience and connect with like-minded students.

Her hopes for the future reflect much of her fast-paced and jampacked schedule now, as she hopes to one day work at a PR agency or potentially as a publicist in the entertainment world.

Garcia says she also hopes that this can motivate some of the younger relatives in her family to confidently go down this path. She has cousins from Cuba that she hopes to help and ensure they learn from the hardships that she overcame.

Posted: January 2, 2025
Category: College News, Profiles, Student Profiles
Tagged as: Camila Garcia, Christine Bucan, First Generation, Myiah Hutchens