Jesse Garcia Oral History Interview

Oral history interview by Mary Heers with Jesse Garcia. Topics include: Retirement from a career in Social work and post retirement activity in Social Work, A current project involved in assisting people get out of poverty; His love of helping people; His family's move from Texas to Utah when he was an infant for Migrant farm work; His work picking at the age of seven; Growing up and attending school in Ogden; Graduating from USU with a degree in Sociology; Different places of employment, including non-profit organizations and government agencies; Serving on the Ogden City Council for sixteen years and major initiatives that were completed; The decline of agricultural work in the area; Family reunions in Texas; Learning a strong work ethic from migrant work and teaching that work ethic to his children; Volunteering as a local baseball coach for twenty-two years; Benefits of playing a on a team; Beginning a life of social work in high school as a tutor for grade school children; Generational poverty being a major obstacle for many youth; Encouraging youth to get an education and work hard towards a dream; An interest in classic cars and his enjoyment of working with seniors.

Mr. Jesse Garcia moved to the Ogden area with his family, as a baby. As a young child he began doing farm work in the area. Later, he graduated from Utah State University in Sociology, and proceeded to work with many different human service organizations. He was elected a member of the Ogden City Council, and served there from 1994-2010. He talks about different senior programs and youth programs he's been involved with over the years, and his passion for social service.