Robert Garcia
City of Long Beach
Long Beach, CA USA
"There is nothing more powerful than kindness. Often times, people will use power or being tough, but what I think will get you farthest in life is being a kind person."
Career Roadmap
Robert's work combines: Politics, Education, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Being in politics you are surrounded by people with different views and opinions. I am who I am and I can't change that, so if someone has a problem with me being gay that's their problem, not mine. I try not to listen to the negativity.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Mass Communication/Media Studies
California State University-Long Beach
Graduate Degree
Mass Communication/Media Studies
University of Southern California
Doctorate
Higher Education/Higher Education Administration
California State University-Long Beach
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Born in Lima, Peru—when he was 5 years old, his family immigrated to Los Angeles in order to escape the violence and economic problems in Peru.
2.
Says he had a “typical immigrant experience”—he moved around a lot, struggled with the language barrier as a native Spanish speaker, and lived in a home with eight other people.
3.
Decided to go to college at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) and eventually went on to earn his master’s from University of Southern California (USC) and his doctorate from CSULB.
4.
He decided to come out as gay in his 20s and his family was very supportive; he’s since become a passionate supporter and advocate for LGBTQ rights.
5.
Became a United States citizen when he was 21 years old—says that was the defining moment of his life, giving him a sense of responsibility and belonging he had yet to experience.
6.
Was a professor for 10 years teaching courses on communication and public policy at USC, CSULB, and Long Beach City College.
7.
Started getting involved in local politics because he wanted to make a difference—was elected to the Long Beach City Council in 2009 and was unanimously elected as vice mayor of Long Beach in 2012.
8.
In 2014, he was elected mayor of Long Beach—his election broke several barriers, as he was the youngest, first openly gay, first Latino, and first bilingual mayor in the city’s history.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Peers:
How can you be a mayor, you're gay?
How I responded:
Being in politics you are surrounded by people with different views and opinions. I am who I am and I can't change that, so if someone has a problem with me being gay that's their problem, not mine. I try not to listen to the negativity.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I came out to my family and friends when I was in my 20s and luckily they were very supportive. I've dealt with some negativity when entering politics, but at the end of the day, being gay has nothing to do with how I do my job.
I moved to Los Angeles from Peru when I was 5. I had a very typical immigrant experience once in the US. I had a lot of relatives living with us, they all had low paying blue collar jobs, and we moved around a lot. I became a citizen at 21 years old.
Education was always emphasized in my family, but no one in my family had ever gone to college. Seeing my family work hard instilled in me a good work ethic, which allowed me to succeed in school.