When Yaribel Garcia arrived in Odessa with her two-year-old child, she was walking
away from the familiar and stepping into the unknown. Yaribel left behind a stable
job with good pay and benefits in the Mexican school system, driven by a mother’s
most powerful instinct—protecting her child. "I made the difficult decision to leave
everything and start over,” says Yaribel.
Back in Mexico, Yaribel had completed high school and was well on her way to earning
the equivalent of an associate degree in teaching. “It was like student teaching in
the United States,” she explained. “I was already in classrooms, teaching kids from
kindergarten through fourth grade. But I had to stop school because of my divorce.”
Starting over in the United States meant facing another setback: her academic credits
from Mexico wouldn’t transfer toward a U.S. degree. Determined to make ends meet,
Yaribel began working in restaurants. “I found that I really loved it,” she said.
“I learned every part of the restaurant business.” But as a single mom, she needed
more financial stability. That led her to the oilfield—a tough industry with better
pay. “For 11 years, I went back and forth between restaurant jobs and oilfield work.”
In Fall 2023, Yaribel took another courageous leap—this time into higher education.
She enrolled at Odessa College as a first-generation college student, and is now graduating
with an Associate Degree in Business Administration. Her return to school not only
marked a personal victory but also unlocked new opportunities.
Today, Yaribel holds a better position in the oilfield, working in the field of safety.
“I feel I have a purpose now,” she said with pride. “I’m there to make employees’
jobs more enjoyable and safer, and to build relationships and trust with them.”
She sees the value of having a degree and plans to continue her education with a degree
in Occupational Health and Safety, recognizing the opportunities it will bring. Through
it all, Yaribel remains determined to create a better future for her 15-year-old son,
who, as a high school freshman, is excelling in his academic classes and thriving
musically as a member of the school’s mariachi band.
Looking further ahead, once her son completes his education, Yaribel plans to pursue
another deeply personal goal: her dream of owning her own restaurant one day.
Her journey hasn’t been easy, but it’s been marked by determination, grit, and hope.
“I’ve learned that sometimes the unknown has more to offer than the comfort of what
we leave behind,” Yaribel reflected. “This degree is just the beginning.”