CLASS 2023 VALEDICTORIAN

Jennifer Garcia

Jennifer Garcia, a first-generation Mexican-American who was born and raised in Brooklyn, discovered City College after taking a gap year. She made a leap of faith, transferring from architecture to business and journalism. The Colin Powell School allowed her to level up her career aspirations and accomplish more than she thought possible, thanks to its diverse range of programs, internships, and fellowship opportunities.

Jennifer was in the inaugural cohort of NBCU Academy Fellows. With the support of the fellowship and the Office of Student Success, Jennnifer interned with CNBC en Español, integrating her business major with reporting to help promote financial literacy within the Spanish-speaking community. She produced multiple original segments on the topic and is currently interning with the NBC Olympics research team as they prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Post-graduation, Jennifer has been accepted into the Bilingual Journalism program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, and the Master of Science program in journalism at Columbia University. Her goal is to inspire others with the stories she reports so that they can help spark conversations for change. She hopes to continue growing with NBC Universal and mentor aspiring journalists from underrepresented backgrounds.