Claudia Garcia Vision is important. When I was a child, my poor, immigrant parents could do little to advance my educational goals because they spoke only Spanish and because no one in my family ever attended—or ever stepped foot in—a college. My father is a self-employed roofer and my mother sells cosmetics. Yet, I saw myself as a college graduate, and I held fast to that vision even when I fled my unstable, abusive and alcoholic father with my boyfriend. I was only sixteen. In leaving, I violated familial and cultural norms that took much time to reconcile. I soon became pregnant, but the thought of dropping out of high school and giving up on college never crossed my mind.
My daughter Carinna was born, I finished high school, and began college while working full-time. I sacrificed many college and social events because I had different priorities and responsibilities than my friends and peers. What made college possible for me were federal Pell grants. I don’t know if I would have been able to complete my college degree without them. I also had great mentors: my co-workers where I worked full-time provided emotional support, and Dr. Akif Uzman in the UH-Downtown science department encouraged me to achieve my goal of attending optometry school. I studied, worked and cared for my beloved daughter. I earned my bachelor’s degree in four years and entered a college of optometry. Now I am Dr. Claudia Garcia, a Therapeutic Doctor of Optometry and business partner of a private optometry practice. I still struggle to balance the time I have to devote to my practice—which is open seven days a week—and to care for my daughter. That struggle is made easier because I understand the trust my patients have for me. I am responsible for the vision care of my patients and the success of my practice. Every day I go to my practice knowing that I will make a difference in the lives of my patients; I know that I will make it easier for them to see their loved ones, do their jobs, and enjoy life. Sight is valuable and I feel fortunate that I am able to touch so many lives. Also, as my practice becomes more successful, I am better able to provide Carinna and me with opportunities that will enrich our lives.
The most important sight I have is seeing my daughter growing up in a household with a strong, educated, professional mother as a role model. My ultimate desire is that my daughter will learn through my experience that hard work, discipline and motivation can help her attain her own visions and reach her own fullest potential. She is growing up in a household that values education; she attends a nurturing, private school—not the neighborhood school I attended that “passed” everyone without really caring if we knew the material. Carinna expects to attend college and knows that I will be behind her as she finds her own vision.
Being a mother, a doctor, and a business partner can be exhausting. I work seven days a week in my practice. Yet I find the strength that I need when I look at my daughter and see in her better opportunities because of the sacrifices I made for both of us.
