Garza earns $150K Army ROTC National Scholarship




2021 Pleasanton High School honor graduate Jaimie Garza is pictured at the Freedom Center in front of the Pleasanton Civic Center. He is preparing to attend Texas Tech University on an ROTC scholarship. LISA LUNA | PLEASANTON EXPRESS

2021 Pleasanton High School honor graduate Jaimie Garza is pictured at the Freedom Center in front of the Pleasanton Civic Center. He is preparing to attend Texas Tech University on an ROTC scholarship. LISA LUNA | PLEASANTON EXPRESS

2021 Pleasanton High School honor graduate Jaimie Garza will soon be starting classes for the fall semester at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. The son of Myra Nuñez of Pleasanton and Jaimie Garza Sr. of Buda, Jaimie is a recipient of the U.S. Army ROTC National Scholarship in the amount of $150,000.

Garza will be in the premed program, with a major in Biology. His relationship with his grandfather Danny Fernandez is what drew him to the Biology field.

“I was the last person to talk to my grandfather. He was like a second dad to me. I think that shook me up to pursue the medical field. He had major, major heart problems, in and out of hospitals. And I was always known as his favorite, so, we were really close and seeing him pass away was hard. So my motivation is to try to help others not have that feeling,” said Garza.

His grandmother Mary Fernandez still resides at the same Pleasanton home.

Garza will graduate from Texas Tech with a Bachelor’s degree after four years in school. After that, he will be enlisted or commissioned into the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant, in the medical field.

“That field is known as the Medical Corps of the United States Army, where I will serve four years active and four years in the Reserves,” Garza said.

In his younger years, he loved UT in Austin. He would go to UT games with his father. However, after a tour of the campus, Garza felt that UT wasn’t for him.

“So, when I took a tour of Texas Tech, the university is absolutely beautiful. It’s huge and they just have all the programs that I was interested in,” Garza said. “They’d just opened up a new medical facility with the newest and greatest tech, right there next to the school. And, overall, the programs were interesting, the school was beautiful, the people were extremely nice, and I just think it would be cool to be a Red Raider. I really, really like the school.”

Garza served in the JROTC all four years of high school and held a leadership position.

“So I was one of the higher ups, but I always tried to help those around me. Community participation was a big thing that I did in that, and I went on drill meets with the organization. I actually scheduled our service learning project that we used for a review called JPA, which is a review of the program.”

Garza led the service learning project, where they visited The Heights in Pleasanton. They spent Valentine’s Day with the residents, visiting and playing around with them and assisting staff.

He was also one of the lead speakers at the JPA inspection, where they were interviewed by military officers and four directors.

“I was nervous, but I think that program helped me with my understanding of how to work with people and how to speak. I was also a part of the band, all four years. I was part of the Eagle drumline.”

Band brought him great experiences and a lot of fun with competitions and performances.

“I always loved the Friday night games going on the field. That was my stressrelief program. I had to have one fun thing to do.”

Garza was also a part of the Health Occupation Students of America, a medical program provided by the school. They held fundraisers and various community events.

His membership in the National Honor Society taught him the importance of giving back to the community.

“I wouldn’t change anything. If anything, I would do more. I had a full plate, but I think that I had a pretty great high school experience.”

Those interested in a military career, or leadership or character building will like JROTC, said Garza. He sends a special thanks to Senior Army Instructor Col. Christopher Wynder.

“He has completely revamped and helped and changed that program. We have so many trophies that we need a trophy case now. So we have so much more community activity that our principal and the superintendent are shocked at how much we actually do. It has all stemmed from him and he’s done amazing. So, if there’s one thing, you have someone who actually enjoys teaching that program and not only enjoys it, but is very, very effective.”

Col. Wynder helped Garza every step of the way with scholarships, interviews and letters of recommendation.

“He’s outstanding and one of the highlights of Pleasanton High School, I’d say.”

JROTC allows you to gain experiences and perform with a team.

“So it’s a great bonding organization. You’ll have to form these close bonds with people you’ve never met and you’ll make new friendships. How I took the program is, it helped me with a lot of future career opportunities,” said Garza. “I was granted this scholarship. I shot for it and didn’t think I was going to get it, and it turned out that I was one of the 2,000 in the nation to get it.”

JROTC also offers lessons in basic citizenship and characteristics, how you respond to leadership, how you respond as a person and communicate and more. It improves a person overall.

To apply for the scholarship, applicants have to go through a military database. Applicants have to write essays and send other requirements. You have to pass the physical exam to even be accepted.

After that, it is all a waiting game, explained Garza. You either receive a phone call or you don’t.

Garza was in the middle of mentoring their JLAB team, which is the academic ROTC team when he received a phone call from his director at Texas Tech, George Hampton. It was approximately three or four weeks after he had applied.

“I got a phone call from him and I went into the next room, and he told me I had gotten it. I absolutely freaked out. They ran in thinking something was wrong. And yeah, that was one of the greatest phone calls I’ve ever had,” said Garza.

On his father’s side, Garza is one of the few attending college.

“My dad has been probably one of my greatest motivators out there. He’s helped me with every step of the way. He’s taught me a lot of life lessons.”

Garza said his father is a completely changed person, for the better.

“He has a home, a family, an extremely well-paying job, and he’s completely on his feet. I can give him a phone call and he’ll immediately answer, anything I need. He has thousands of hours of overtime and, honestly, just a highlight of my life.”

He added, “And, my mom too, she was a single mother growing up and raising me. So that was extremely hard, but she helped me with every step of the way. I mainly lived with her. It’s really hard trying to raise a son by yourself, working as a teacher as well. So I just really want to prove to them that their work hasn’t been for nothing. I’m going to go as far as I can.”

Garza knew from an early age he wanted to serve his country in the military. Even when he was only in kindergarten, they took a photo at career day and Garza’s dream was to be a future military officer.

“So it’s funny to see my senior ROTC picture with me in the uniform and then me as a little kid, holding a flag, dressed up in the military. We have that picture in the front of the house.”

He credits his Uncle Bubba, Orlando Garza of Pleasanton, with the one getting him most interested in the military.

“He served in the U.S. Military, in both operations, Sword and Shield. He was in the Army. Final rank was a Sergeant. I think he was the one that motivated me,” said Garza. “I always thought he was super cool and loved going to his house because that’s where we would always celebrate Fourth of July and New Year’s because he had a little bit of land. So fireworks was always fun. I think he inspired me to look into it because I always saw him as a strong person and so I wanted to be like him.”

Along with Col. Wynder, others who inspired him at PHS were teachers Callie Bast and Noel Garcia.

“Callie Bast will hands down be the greatest teacher I’ve ever had. Not only does she teach her class in probably the best way possible, which is she teaches her part and she makes you work with your colleagues, makes you work with the people around you to learn. She has you struggle at first just to make you a stronger student. Her class was hard. Calculus was the hardest class I ever took in school, but she definitely did her job.”

He described Spanish teacher Noel Garcia as outstanding.

“He always would write letters of recommendation or help me out if I ever needed anything on campus. And he was just a super nice and great teacher. And he actually retired this year, so everyone was kind of joking around that he graduated with us, and I would just have a lot of thanks for him.”

The $150,000 scholarship is a three-year scholarship and includes a livein stipend of $254 every month. It pays for tuition, board and has great coverage. With how well the program is being run now, he is certain another PHS student will get the scholarship this coming school year.

“I just hope that people realize the importance of that program and can understand that that’s a pathway that you can take, and how much opportunity you can take if you just go out and seek it, but work to it,” said Garza. “There’s money waiting for you. But not just money. If you put work in, there’s a lot of experience and opportunities that you can get.”

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