Garcia sits outside of Fontana High School.
Logo of “I Don’t Lie About Where I’m From” scholarship.
Garcia sits outside of Fontana High School.
Fontana High School alumnus Jonathan Garcia wants to inspire youth to create a better future.
Garcia — Reddit’s lead of its diversity, inclusion and belonging department — donated $50,000 to Fontana High School to establish the “I Don’t Lie About Where I’m From” scholarship fund. The goal is to promote civic pride.
“I’m excited to donate back to my community,” said Garcia, a graduate student at Stanford, focusing on generational cycles of race, labor and health in Fontana.
The “I Don’t Lie About Where I’m From” scholarship works to close Fontana’s gaps of equity, with special attention to the 92335 ZIP code. He grew up and lives there now.
“I love telling people where I am from, and I don’t mind taking the extra time to explain where Fontana is,” Garcia said.
“Additionally, I want to put my effort and assets into our community to show people that there’s nothing better than investing in the place you are from.”
Garcia isn’t all talk. He’s action.
“Growing up in Fontana has been such a blessing. It taught me the importance of being proud of what I do,” he said.
“I have been fortunate to occupy various educational and corporate spaces, and travel to various parts of the world. Also, there is no place like here. The people in Fontana are some of the most talented, hard-working, generous, and innovative (people) in the entire world. I believe that fully”
Garcia admitted his upbringing was a rollercoaster ride. His family was temporarily evicted, and he learned he could not afford college. Still, his connection to Fontana grew stronger. Jo Sisk, Fontana High School assistant principal, hired him as a college tutor to get financially back on track.
“This experience taught me that when no one else has your back, your community does. For real. And that if you keep going in the pursuit of your dreams, you’ll get there. It’s a marathon,” he said.
Logo of “I Don’t Lie About Where I’m From” scholarship.
Garcia said he feels like a champion. Working at Reddit gave him the confidence to start the scholarship.
“Working at a platform that aims to foster community worldwide, I’ve sharpened my skills at building connections across differences and thinking more strategically about uplifting historically marginalized communities,” Garcia said.
“It’s also helped me think with more of a corporate lens, which can be helpful when navigating initiatives like these.”
With the scholarship, Garcia hopes to show students what they can achieve.
“It’s important for our youth to see someone who looks like them, talks like them, dresses like them, eats at the same places they do, someone who isn’t way older than them, someone who is from where they are from; to be able to see a peer in their community and believe they can anything I did. Because they can,” he said.
Ultimately, Garcia wants students to reinvest in their community.
“More than anything, I want recipients of this scholarship to pay it forward and give back to Fontana once they have the opportunity. Our city needs us,” Garcia said.
“My advice is to work for the process, not the results. Dream, dream, dream. Be obsessive. Keep your heart open to other people’s struggles. Remember that we only get one chance at this life. We should use it to help others.”
Asked about his future, Garcia kept it short and sweet.
“I can’t give away all the secrets just yet,” he said.
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