By Ariel Wilder
Dr. Gilda Garcia’s story begins when she was just a child in her Kindergarten classroom. She was born in San Antonio, Texas to Mexican-American parents who had to sacrifice numerous things to be able to put her through school. However, it was difficult for Garcia, herself, as she was always the youngest in her grade due to having a late August birthday. As most of us have attended Kindergarten, we know that nap time was the best time of the school day; but not for little Gilda. She recalled that all of the cots given were blue except two that were purple. One day, she went up to her teacher and asked to have one of the purple cots. Her teacher replied that it is given to whoever gets in line first, but Garcia sat at the back of the classroom and knew she would never be first in line at the front of the classroom. To this day, Garcia remembers how the selection of cots during nap time was not fair.
Fast forward about ten years in her life and she was reminded of the same principle again. Garcia was raised Catholic and one day in Church she asked, “What if a baby does not want to be Catholic?” That one question caused one of the nuns to call her mother to come and get her. The nun told her mother that young Gilda would be damned to Hell and that the only way to be allowed back into the Church was to find a way to apologize and return to the Church’s good graces. Garcia replied simply, “that is not fair.”
Another ten years down the road, Garcia was getting ready to apply for colleges. Her brother received a full ride to Notre Dame. Everyone was so excited for her brother that Gilda told her family that she was going to apply to Notre Dame as well; but she did not receive the same enthusiastic response. Her father told her she could not go there because it was too far for a girl to travel. Instead, he wanted her to get a job at a bank downtown and if she took any other path, he would no longer support her. Garcia knew this was not what she wanted to do. She repeated a common refrain to her father: “this is not fair.”
Garcia still pursued college, majoring in theater. Then, became a teacher and coach before going to graduate school at Texas State where she attended a life changing lecture with her parents. The lecture was by a woman who was on the cabinet of the University of Michigan and was also a lesbian. She spoke about how it was better to come out because it made it easier for everyone; that is when Garcia decided to tell her parents.
Garcia's graduate degree led her to sports administration with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). She stayed there for a few years before deciding to get her doctorate at the University of Texas, Austin. As she was entering school to receive her doctorate, she had another life changing event occur. Garcia had been with her partner for seventeen years; they had two kids and a dog, what some might call a “perfect marriage.” One day, Garcia's partner explained that she had found someone else who she wanted to create a future with. Garcia returned to the feeling that this was not fair. She and her partner were able to negotiate joint custody of their children, but Garcia knew that some parents in this situation would have had their children taken away. Her situation and her understanding of how unfair life could be for so many became the inspiration for her to complete her doctorate. She believed that she could help to make sure life was as fair as it could for more people.
In 2007, Garcia went on to serve as the Vice President of Institutional Equity & Diversity at UNT, where she led initiatives on campus to advance inclusion and develop strategic plans to make university life fairer, more equitable, and more accessible for marginalized people. At UNT, she worked actively with GLAD, the student LGBTQ group on campus, and later UNT’s Pride Alliance, a university office, which she helped to found in 2013. The office started out of the Multicultural Center before becoming an independent office eight months later. The Pride Alliance is a “gender and sexuality resource center and a safe and welcoming space for all. The values that drive our work include education, engagement and involvement, and student success and leadership development.” The Pride Alliance developed Pride Alliance Training and hosts National Coming Out Day events, helping to create a more inclusive community for LGBTQIA+ students. Since its founding, The Pride Alliance has grown to include more staff and even hosts astorage unit for their OUTfits Clothing Closet, which was developed to provide free gender-affirming clothes to students on campus. Garcia also organized Outrageous Oral events with The Dallas Way on LGBTQ history at UNT, as well as the school’s Transgender Day of Remembrance events. She shared her story at an Outrageous Oral in 2014.
In 2014, Garcia became the Chief Diversity Officer and Title IX Coordinator at Texas State University, where she supported students across a range of identities and experiences. Since 2018, she has worked as a Title IX advisor and Diversity & Inclusion consultant in her home town of San Antonio. Inspired by the unfairness she saw all around her in life, Garcia forged a career that would make the world a little more fair for the many students and community members who have benefited from the programs and initiatives that she helped to bring into the world.