Ricardo Garavito

EOPS and CalWORKs

Student Spotlight (2020)

I was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and brought to America at a very young age. Growing up, being able to see both sides of the spectrum was a grand opportunity that expanded my way of seeing the world. I then graduated from Damien High School and went straight into the workforce working for my father. I believed at that time that I was not going to go anywhere else, and after ten years of loyal service, we parted our ways. From there, I went into life insurance sales, and at eight years of service, my boss tried to get me fired. I stuck it out for three more years in the life insurance business because, at the ten-year mark, she has to pay me renewals for the rest of my life. So then retired from life insurance and found myself once again with a mere high school diploma and no job. From there, I was in a major accident that left me completely immobilized in the hospital for 75 days. Also, being married with children did not make things any easier. Not being able just to get up and work in some warehouse made me realize the importance of school. This was when my wife suggested that I go back to school. Thankfully through the CalWORKs program, I was able to go back to school full time. Now, I am going to graduate with three associate degrees.

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