Alumni Profile – Adriana Garcia

Meet Adriana Garcia!

Immigrating to the United States when she was 15, Adriana found herself in a new country, a new school, and learning a new language in her ESL classes. Determined not to be picked on, Adriana joined SRLA at Leuzinger High School in Lawndale. There, she found a supportive community in her SRLA Team – “we never left each other’s side,” she says. With the backing of her teammates, Adriana knew she “was never going to quit” and credits her first two marathons with SRLA for teaching her determination and hard work, discovering that “if you work for it, you can achieve it.”

And achieve it, she did. Adriana was the first generation of her family to go to college and one of just a handful of ESL students who attended a four-year college. She received a scholarship from SRLA and after graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in Business Economics and Accounting, Adriana worked as an auditor at Deloitte Touche and a Price Analyst at Skechers before joining DIRECTV five years ago. 

Adriana is now a Retention Marketing Manager at DIRECTV. She loves the challenges of her job and has shared her passion for running with her DIRECTV colleagues. Adriana is the current President of DIRECTV’s Running Club and ran the LA Marathon in support of SRLA this year.

Adriana attributes her success to a strong support system at school and at home. Adriana continues to run marathons and other fun races with colleagues and family members. She has run the LA Marathon 5 times (3 times after High School) and has also been cheering on her nieces and nephews who have also gone on to join SRLA. Adriana is also volunteer mentor at DaVinci Charter School. Adriana is determined to give back to the community that gave her so much. She says she never realized how big of an accomplishment and life changing running the Marathon was until she looked back.

When asked what advice she would give to a SRLA student today, Adriana quotes Tim Notke saying, “hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard” and always have confidence in all that you do. Adriana looks forward earning a new personal record running her 6th Los Angeles Marathon next to all of the SRLA runners at the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon this February!

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