Influencer of the Week: Melinda Garcia, Orange Technical College Westside Campus

Melinda Garcia is the medical assisting program director at Orange Technical College Westside Campus. Her exceptional ability to communicate with her students, be proactive in partnering and building relationships with area hospitals and doctors’ offices, and perform with great proficiency the clinical responsibilities of a medical assistant has earned her the respect of her peers.

What do you love most about Orange Technical College?

One of the things that I love to most about OTC Westside is the family atmosphere that is felt throughout. There is a strong and genuine support system, not only professionally, but personally as well. If any staff or faculty member is ever in need, everyone is always there to support one another. I am very blessed to have had the opportunity to work and grow professionally in a place such as OTC Westside.

What’s your favorite part of your role?

I have several different roles at OTC Westside, and there are things that I absolutely love about each and every one of them. My role as an instructor is my favorite. Being able to impact student lives by teaching them the knowledge and skills that will help them obtain a career as a medical assistant is a true blessing. I love watching their confidence grow as they progress through the program, and, even more so obtain a job in their career upon graduating.

What motivates you and pushes you to do your best?

The success of all medical assistant students is what pushes me to do my very best. I work very hard at what I do. I sit on many committees and boards to try and be a part of the advancement in the medical assistant field. Medical assistant is now one of the top five job needs. Witnessing the opportunities now available to a medical assistant graduate — especially those that graduate from Orange Technical College — grow and develop has been an amazing thing to witness. 

What’s the nicest thing a student or faculty member has done for you?

A few years back I shared with my students that when I was a young girl I was not able to have my “Quinceañera” (the celebration of girl’s 15th birthday) because during that time my family and I lived in South Florida, and it was the year that Hurricane Andrew hit and destroyed many homes in that area — our home was one of them. When my birthday came during that school year, my students surprised me by planning, with the assistance other school faculty members, to come into my classroom at night to decorate my room. They decorated it so beautifully to make up for the celebration that I never had so many years prior. They dressed tables with linens, photo booth backdrops (built by our building construction students), table centerpieces, balloons, a cake and dessert table … the works! They went all out. I was completely surprised and never knew that they had been planning this.

If you could take a vacation anywhere, where would you go?

My dream vacation would be to go to Italy. My husband and I came close once, but had an unexpected mishap and we just haven’t been able to make it happen since, but I am hopeful that we will make it there someday in the future.