It starts with an Opportunity!
Francisco Garcia
Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U)
What is your organization?
In 2012, I was a full-time artist and co-founder of the National Council of Young Leaders along with other extraordinary council members across the country that had experienced being an “opportunity youth” - what the U.S. government refers to as young adults who are neither enrolled in school nor participating in the labour markets. Two years later, we used the momentum of our work to start a national grassroots movement, now known as Opportunity Youth United (OYU). The council acts as a steering committee for OYU.
OYU is a national movement of young leaders who have decided to join forces to increase opportunity and decrease poverty in America. We are a group as diverse as America. Our members are Black, White, Native American, Latinx, Asian, and Mixed Heritage with different religions, ethnicities, genders, and sexual identities representing urban, rural, and tribal communities.
Throughout the years, this movement has grown into over 20 “Community Action Teams” (CATS) around the country working on leadership development programs, civic engagement projects, and policy-building related to education or the arts. These CATS are coalitions of young leaders and youth-serving organizations that lift up their voices in the political process and mobilize locally to create community improvement projects of their own design. They are each led by a highly-respected local anchor organization selected by OYU staff in consultation with local community leaders. It has shown great promise to see the number go from 6.7 million disconnected opportunity youth (2012) to 4.6 million opportunity youth (2020).
What inspired you?
I was inspired to start the OYU initiative during Barack Obama’s second term where he had the Council for Community Solutions do research on young people in America. They found that 6.7 million young people were considered “opportunity youth” and completely disconnected from work and school. With the help of my mentor Dorothy Stoneman, former CEO of YouthBuild USA, we sought to create a movement where nonprofits, schools, and businesses could collaborate with one another to create more job and educational opportunities for young people.
When we started Opportunity Youth United in 2014, our mission was to mobilize young leaders that represented the real lives of those facing poverty in America in order to decrease the number of opportunity youth. To do so, we extended invitations to young leaders and community members through national nonprofits committed to civic engagement.
What else has inspires you?
There are a few things that inspire me. One of my greatest inspirations is my 8-year-old daughter and seeing her grow and have a hunger for growth - she makes me want to to be the best version of myself. Seeing youth activism and the fight for social justice is another motivator for me, and to be able to share empowering messages through the arts. Some of my favorite activists stemmed from the Dream Act movement, M.E.C.H.A. (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán), and the fight for immigration rights. And finally, I am inspired by muralism and street art. Recently, I created my own business at the end of 2019 focusing on designing and creating murals and art, as well as collaborating with hip hop artists for social justice across the country.
Travel has also become an education catalyst for me. I've had the opportunity to travel to 12 countries and learn about different cultures and create murals with people from different nationalities - my favorite experience was learning about muralists on a trip to Mexico. This then fueled my curiosity for indigenous cultures in America, which ultimately motivated me to pursue higher education. I am now enrolled at Arizona State University full-time pursuing a B.F. in painting and a minor in transborder studies (which is essentially Mexican-American Studies or Chicanx Studies) and am scheduled to graduate in spring 2021.
Learning more about my indigenous roots and culture has taught me that my culture is diverse, beautiful, and has been in the Americas over 10,000 years. I've also learned that our language, arts, culture, foods, and architecture has cross-pollinated for thousands of years and you can always find similarities and connections between different cultures around the world. We are so different yet we are the same: “En Lak Ech”. You are my other me.
What are some challenges you have faced?
Growing up in Los Angeles in a low-income and underserved neighborhood, I found struggles in accessing opportunities as a youth. I witnessed many drive-by shootings, gang violence, under-resourced schools, higher rates of incarceration, and unemployment, among many other things. At the age of 16 after my sophomore year of high school, my family decided to move to Phoenix, Arizona. After moving to Phoenix, I was suffering from anxiety attacks and depression. Soon after I found an outlet through graffiti, which of course came with its own rocky beginnings. Later, I was expelled from three different high schools and went to jail twice for illegal graffiti. At the age of 17, things took a drastic upturn for me when I let God into my heart and experienced mentorship for the first time.
I had these two new mentors at the age of 18, one looked similar to me - brown skin and of Mexican descent. It was encouraging to have a positive role model who had come from a similar background as me. My other mentor, a white woman, at first reminded me of people who had treated me poorly growing up. Later, she showed me through her own kindness that someone who looks different than I do can in fact spread love. I learned to be open-minded towards others, have an appreciation for other cultures, and a new interest for world history through art.
Later on, I was working in the Phoenix community doing art, mural, teaching, and projects that eventually led me to join a Youth Leadership Council in Arizona. I had been nominated by a nonprofit called AZ Call-a-Teen, a nonprofit organization that matches youth to work and educational opportunities, where I had been working at the front desk and met many incredible individuals, including Martin Moreno from Las Artes, who became another significant mentor of mine. After being nominated to the Youth Leadership Council, I was invited to speak at the White House during Youth Summit 2012, which takes it back to where my journey co-founding OYU began.
What have been your biggest resources?
Networking, networking, networking! I can not emphasize enough how vital this is. As a young person, I was introduced to a nonprofit program that took me in, mentored me, and provided me with job opportunities that helped foster values and experiences eventually aligning with my vision. My vision was to be able to create art for social justice through different mediums of arts, one of them being muralism while working with youth in low-income communities. I wanted to show people that felt like they didn't belong that they mattered and that their culture is beautiful. I also wanted to help foster dialogue and solidarity through my artistic contributions.
Being part of so many organizations has also helped me learn about social entrepreneurship, business, education, and activism, and has opened so many doors.
The main key is to keep in touch with people and organizations, to assist others, to network, to build, and to help the younger generation with the tools they need and to match them to necessary resources. I believe that it will all come back full circle - when you give back to others, it is more rewarding than receiving.
What advice do you have for others?
Education. I really believe in education because once you have an educated person, you can’t take it away from that person. Education helps you realize you have a purpose in this life and that you are called for greatness.
Be open-minded, have faith, and always be prepared. You never know who you're going to meet. Make your business cards! Even if you don't have a business, share your contact information, maintain a social media presence, keep it professional, and connect with everyone on LinkedIn or Instagram.
The best advice that I could give as a creative person is, even if you're not an artist or don't consider yourself an artist, try to learn or experiment with different mediums within the arts - whether it's singing, poetry, or dancing. It's all therapeutic. It will also allow you to think creatively to bring solutions to different types of problems, whether it's business, nonprofit, or technology, and it will help broaden your mind and ideas.
How did you first find out about CGI U?
I'm part of a program called Venture Devils at Arizona State University that provides mentoring for social entrepreneurs. Most of the mentorship opportunities I came across on campus were related to the for-profit sector, and this one interested me because it was focused on how to create social impact in your community.
It's funny because, about two or three years ago I saw the opportunity to apply to CGI U, and I didn't even consider it. I thought, “I'm just some street artist - I can’t apply for the Clinton Global Initiative University!”
It took me a few years to realize that the reality is, that I'm not just an artist. I'm also a co-founder, an entrepreneur, an educator, an activist, a national artist, and a community leader. In 2019, I finally had the confidence to apply and was especially drawn to the social justice aspect of the program. The mentoring component of CGI U was also a huge draw, as well as the opportunity to connect with other like-minded individuals and possibly receive funding for the projects that I had had in my heart for years.
How has CGI U Influenced your professional path?
My mentor, Myeashea Alexander (and CGI U’s Impact and Design Manager) has been great. She's been there for me even when I just needed to talk about things or obstacles that I’ve run into. I had some scholarships taken away and I've even encountered some racism with my scholarships and financial opportunities. She's helped me to stay on track, to stay positive, and to stay inspired. I'm really grateful for that.
Another one is being exposed to other young leaders that you have in your network, The opportunities are seriously endless. It's been an awesome experience so far!
Why would you recommend CGI U U?
I'd recommend CGI U to young people because I think that if you have a dream that you have in your heart and you want to grow, possibly get further with your dream and elevate it! CGI U is the perfect place to network, meet young people, get more innovative ideas, training, counselling, or advice, and possibly have financial opportunities.
It’s a great place to open those doors for you.
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