Overcoming Covid Obstacles

Yajaira Elizondo-Salgado

UC Merced, 2021 MGS recipient

"The biggest challenge that Covid presented was uncertainty. My parents were always anxious about what would happen with work. They kept worrying and worrying when less people would show up to work. The uncertainty that they might end up with no job was very hard on them. The good thing is that they did still have a job and a steady income throughout the pandemic. I didn't have the same opportunity as them. My job was completely closed for the first couple of months of the pandemic. The Mike Garcia Scholarship helped alleviate the stress of the college system. This scholarship has helped believe more in myself and that I can finish college.”