Merced, El Capitan High School

My name is Laura J. Garcia Lunar. I am 18 years old. I am from Leon, Guanajuato,

Mexico. I came to the U.S when I was 15 years old. I lived in Mexico for 15 years with my
grandparents and my mother. Now I live with my mother, stepfather and my younger sister in
Merced, CA. I began school in the U.S during my freshman year at El Capitan High School
when I was 15 years old. My family might not be the richest family or the poorest family, but we
are a middle class type of family. My mother is the householder in my family and technically she
has always been, here and in Mexico. My goals are to study really hard, so one day I can become
a Forensic Anthropologist. Another, goal is to have a really good future to prove wrong to those
people who do not believe that I will be able to succeed in life. In Addition, I have been
involved in several community service activities, such as helping to organize food cans and
clothes for the homeless at Catholic Charities; I also helped serve Thanksgiving and Christmas
meals to the homeless; Finally, I also helped clean areas and organize a carnival for one of our
community elementary schools. I was also involved in the IGNITE program after school this
program was sponsored by UC Merced and focused on providing career and college information
to English Learner students at my high school, El Capitan.