Student Spotlight - Chris Garcia-Martinez

After realizing he would need additional support in order to graduate high school, Chris Garcia-Martinez enrolled in EvCC's Youth Re-Engagement (U3) program. There, he found "all the support I could imagine," and continued on to EvCC's mechatronics program. Chris graduated with his associate in technical arts degree in advanced manufacturing tech-mechatronic in 2018. He credits several EvCC employees for helping him and others succeed. "I can’t wait to come back a couple of years from now and show them what I’ve become and how their extra effort help paid off," Chris says.

Update, Summer 2019: Chris works as a field service technician for M. Torres America, a contractor for Boeing. The photo above shows him at work. "EvCC's staff saw me as a young man with a hunger to learn and provided support and great guidance," Chris said then. "(That) fueled my desire to keep wanting to learn and see what my true potential is."

Chris advises current students: "Realize the great opportunity you have! Take your classes as serious as you would a job. Trust me, it will only come back and benefit you."

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

My name is Chris Garcia-Martinez. I was born in Los Angeles, California to very wonderful and hardworking parents. Currently I’m studying Mechatronics at EvCC and working at Value Village in Marysville (in 2018).

How did you get involved with Everett Community College's Youth Re-Engagement (U3) program, which gives students the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and college credit for free?

At the time I was a senior in high school, and I had nothing really going for me. I knew where I was at with my credits and that I was not going to be able to graduate. My counselor urged me to apply to the Youth Re-Engagement program. She said it gave students a second chance. I already felt like a bad son for not doing the only job I had, which was be a good student. I did not want to further disappoint my family, so I applied. 

How did U3 help you? 

After I applied and went through the process, I was assigned to a U3 case manager. My case manager’s name is Jake (Cooper), and if I can recognize his immense dedication to all the students who are trying to make a difference in their lives, then please, give this man a reward. I do not think I would have been as successful if this man was not hyping me up the entire way. Along with (U3 Program Director) Rebecca (Hungerford), who treated me like family, they gave me all the support I could imagine. 

What are your educational and career plans? 

I want to further my skills as a Service Technician with M. Torres America and hopefully become a great tech. During my time at AMTEC (EvCC's Advanced Manufacturing Training and Education Center) I found my interest in robotics and PLC’s (digital fundamentals and programmable logic controllers) and most importantly, electricity, so I want to (if possible) pursue an Electrical Engineering Tech Bachelor’s degree in the future. 

Take your classes as serious as you would a job. Trust me, it will only come back and benefit you."

What interested you about the ​mechatronics program​​?

I liked the challenge of having been presented several different trades and learning the basics and getting the opportunity to put all these trades together and using them on a machine that is made up of multiple components. Being able to read schematics and knowing, “hey this is a wire that leads to a step-up transformer which causes voltage to increase” is very cool.

How do you think the skills you learned at AMTEC are helping you to reach your professional goals?

I was able to get entry into the Boeing internship when I was very new to AMTEC with only the few classes I had under my belt. When I got to Boeing and I was talking to technicians and mechanics, I understood what they were saying to me. It wasn’t an alien language anymore. This 100% fired me up in wanting to pursue more knowledge in a narrower field.

Tell me about your internship at Boeing.

At the Boeing internship there were days we shadowed technicians doing their day-to-day tasks, getting to know what problems are commonly found and what is done to fix them. I would try and help everyone as much as I could, even if it meant making an items list and organizing cabinets to have a checklist of tools available and who has them and so forth. The coolest part was when I was able to practice the skills I had learned. I was interested in a machine that they had in the building I was in and the machine was having an issue with a sensor. The technicians were trying to fix it, but it wasn’t high on the priority list so I asked to see some manuals and other materials they used to program the sensors and after doing some reading I figured out how to use it and gave the tech a little oral report on what I had found. I asked if I could take a shot at adjusting it and was approved. I got to reprogram 2 other sensors on 2 machines. 

Describe the best experience you had at EvCC.

The PLC class I took when I first started is my best experience at EvCC because that was when I saw how real the information I was receiving truly was, as well as realizing how much I was learning, and I very much enjoyed it. After a few weeks, what first appeared as lines had become a language that I could read, and I was elated.

Who has helped you succeed at EvCC? What did that person do to help you?

I do love and appreciate what the staff members at U3 did and they were a huge part of getting my motivation. They truly helped me push myself, but if it wasn’t for (AMTEC's career and completion coach) Leslie Diaz, I would not be here. I initially planned to just do a certification and finish, but Leslie sat me down and explained in detail about how I should use this opportunity I’ve been given to pursue even more knowledge. I feel like if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have had a true long-term goal. I owe her a lot; she’s truly the best.

What advice do you have for new EvCC U3 students?

My advice is to realize the great opportunity you have from the very beginning. I wish I could go back and take the initial classes a lot more seriously because when I first started, I came in caring but not seeing my long-term goal. Now I’m a few steps from graduating, and if I would have taken those classes a lot more serious my GPA would be in a better state. My advice would be, take these classes as serious as you would a job, put in the extra time to do more than is asked. Trust me, it will only come back and benefit you.

Is there anything you'd like to add?

I appreciate all the work that everyone has done for me. Helping kids find a better future and changing lives forever, but it isn’t as superficial as it might sound. These people took extra time on me, and I know it’s their job to do so, but they all went above and beyond. I can’t wait to come back a couple of years from now and show them what I’ve become and how their extra effort help paid off.