The 2024 – 2025 school year at Mt. SAC Early College Academy has seen new additions to the staff. One of the newest faces is Dr. Katrina Garcia, our new Assistant Principal. Dr. Garcia is a prominent character, not only at MECA, but also in the district.
Home life:
Growing up in West Covina, Katrina Garcia was part of the Azusa Unified School District, later graduating and enrolling into Las Palmas Middle school, before choosing Bishop Amat for high school. Recalling her longtime passion for learning and pushing her towards greater goals.
Dr. Garcia recounts, “I took all AP courses and was super into school and played sports and did ASB”. Once graduated, she moved on to bigger things, and set off to college. Dr. Garcia applied for Arizona State, where she spent some time before moving to Cal State Fullerton. After a while, Dr. Garcia transferred to USC, concluding her journey as a student. Following her time in University, she returned to her West Covina roots and began teaching.
Upbringing/ Interests:
From a young age, Dr. Garcia has always felt a certain allure towards education, which proved to play a big part in what she chose as her long time career. This same interest is what pushed her to teach environmental science and biology for ten years at West Covina High School, prior to her two year teaching career at Edgewood High School. However, being an educator in the West Covina Unified school District had not been her original plan.
As Dr. Garcia describes, “I think that if [Bishop Amat] had not called me, I’d probably just gotten a job at Arizona State and just worked [in] the university system.” From that moment on, she dedicated multiple years into teaching, landing her in the spot she is in today.
In spite of her dedication to teaching, Dr. Garcia can be quite sociable, always reaching out for new connections. Of her multitude of interests, she enjoys both mentally and physically stimulating activities, from yoga and running, to more thought provoking games such as chess. Alongside her hobbies, her outgoing interests, and love for science she keeps on giving, as she raises her four year old daughter. Even more impressive still, she balances her work and personal life, still keeping that same passion for her career, and wanting nothing more but to help kids navigate their journey in education.
Transition to MECA:
Dr. Garcia has an impressive career in education, having worked at every school in the West Covina School District over the years. With her vast experience across multiple campuses, she became used to managing large schools with bigger campuses and a larger student population. So, when she made the transition to MECA, a much smaller and more compact campus, it was quite a change for her. However, as she settled in, Dr. Garcia quickly came to see the many advantages that come with a smaller school setting.
She explains, “It’s so much smaller and it’s so quiet here. It’s just different and I think there’s a lot of power in that and opportunities to get to know people, which is like my favorite thing. So I think that’s really cool.”
Dr. Garcia quickly realized how here at MECA, there’s a stronger sense of community, which allowed her to build more personal relationships with the students and staff. Despite the differences, she now sees the capabilities and values the close bonds and positive atmosphere that thrives in a smaller campus environment.
Future Hopes:
In the end, Dr. Garcia hopes her dedication to her job, passion for education, and love for working with people will turn MECA’s campus into an even more vibrant and positive learning environment. She believes her ability to listen, connect, and bring change will bring countless benefits to both students and staff, creating a space where everyone feels valued and supported. As she continues to lead with passion and vision, Dr. Garcia remains committed to making a lasting impact on the lives of the students and the school community.
She states, “I like being in charge of things, I like kind of thinking about how I can make systems better, how can we make this easier for everybody?” MECA is without a doubt a better place with her part of our trusted staff. And she later adds on, “I love my job, I love working with kids, I love working with adults, and I love working with people. Something unique about me is that I can come up with something with anybody.” So don’t be shy and remember to say hello to MECA’s new assistant principal, Dr. Katarina Garcia!
