Alumni Brother Ricardo Garcia-Rosario Alpha Alpha Chapter SP2002

Name: Ricardo Garcia
Occupation: Ambulatory Care Medical Support Assistant Veterans Health Administration
School Pledged: UCF
Schools attended: University of Puerto Rico , UCF
Semester pledged: SP 2002
Line Number: 1
Degrees: BA Criminal Justice BS Military Science
Fraternal positions held: Alumni chair fund raising chair, Florida Sector Administrative officer and Regional Expansion Director
Awards: New Brother of the year 2002. Brother of the month AA chapter Sep and Nov 2002. During my time as a US ARMY INFATRY OFFICER I earned several awards such as the US ARMY INFANTRY BLUE CORD, EXPERT INFANTRY BADGE, SENIOR PARACHUTIST WINGS and the coveted RANGER TAP Class 02-00 Jan 2000)

1. Tell us about yourself: Where are you from? When and Where did you pledge?
My name is Ricardo Garcia I was born in San Juan PR but I was raised in Bayamon (Bellavista). During my time as a young latino in Puerto Rico I enjoyed the fast pace life style of one of the biggest towns of Puerto Rico in which I was always surrounded by violence and struggles. I am the son of a Vietnam veteran, so my childhood was one filled with discipline and routine. In addition, I was blessed to be born into a family full of culture and surrounded by music, as my grandfather is the originator of the great “ EL Gran Combo” Chiquitin Garica and the late “ Baladista of Latino America “ Carmen Delia Dipini from which I gain a great deal of pride in the Puerto Rican culture. Coming from such humble beginnings, I would always strive to better myself while pushing towards my goals everyday. While in college I joined a Local ROTC program which gave me the focus I needed to finish school and to be commissioned by the president of the United States as a young second lieutenant into the active US ARMY, INFANTRY. After several years of training and a hard career in the military I separated from the military to continue my studies as a graduate student in the university of central Florida. After I left the Army I came to Orlando Fl to settle into a better life in which I found I could not relate to many of the Latinos in Orlando but after one day after speaking to some of the brothers of Lambda Theta Phi at the student union where I was working as a graduate assistant, I came to see there was a group of young men who were very devoted on their service to the community and to the betterment of the Latino culture. After long deliberation I decided to pledge and to this day I do not regret anything about my experience. While at UCF , I had a great college experience full of great memories, but my greatest memories are from becoming a brother of Lambda Theta at the University of Central Florida on April 15, 2002. During my time as a young brother of Lambda Theta Phi I was the Alumni chair, Fund raising chair and Florida Sector Administrative Officer.

2. What degrees do you currently hold and what career path are you currently in?
Currently I hold a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico and a Bachelors of Arts in Military Science from the University of Puerto Rico. In addition, I am a candidate from a Master in Business Administration with a specialization in entrepreneurship. Moreover, I would like to continue on to Law school in the near future and focus on immigration law.

3. What are some positive aspects of being an Active Alumni of Lambda Theta Phi?
As active alumni, I have come to meet a great deal of young men who are striving everyday to better our community and our nation. As an alumni brother who always stands on the background watching I have been able to mentor many undergraduate brothers who in some cases see me as a role model, who I constantly try to motivate to stay on the right path and to always instill in them to keep their culture alive. Never in my life I would I have imagined to have been part of such great organization and specially in Orlando Florida in which town we have so many Latinos not wanting to advance in education but at the same time have so many who do want to take on the challenge and maybe some day take on leadership roles in our communities. I can say here in Orlando Florida, we have some great brothers who keep on setting the example so others could follow and I hope one day in the near future I will see these young men climb through their collegiate an career path and be the guiding light of those who are lost.

4. As an Alumni and at this point in your life, what do you want from our Great Fraternity?
As an alumnus, I would to bring my experiences during my career as an Army Infantry Officer in the 82nd ABN Division to those young undergraduate brothers who might want to undergo such a challenging career and to teach them how to always strive for success no matter the stressor of life what ever they me be. In addition, I would like to help those who still struggle to understand the difficulties of life after the college life is over which can be very challenging specially during these trouble times. As a young man I took it upon myself to follow the path of a very grueling military career in which I learned a great deal about myself and gained a better understanding of what is to be a Latino in this day and age which led me to believe it is not how hard you work but, how effective are your leadership skill are.

5. How have you benefited from becoming a Brother of Lambda Theta Phi in your personal and professional life? What memories, if any, can you share?
During my time as a undergraduate brother I had the pleasure to meet some of the greatest people in our community and see how much respect they have for those young Latinos who keep fighting to reach their goals. After the military I settled into the Orlando community back in November 2001 and I can say I would not have made it if it was not for the bonds I built with a the great group of Brothers who belong to the fraternity. A memory I still hold dear is the knowledge given to me by a Founding Brother of Phi chapter, who not only help me gain employment after the military transition time but also gave me a better understanding of what it is to be a real brother of Lambda Theta Phi, brother John Sanchez told me “ It is what you do now what makes others respect you in life and not the titles you hold”.

6. What are your ultimate goals for your future? Where do you see yourself?
My career goal at the moment is to finish my graduate studies and continue on to law school. Currently, I do see myself in the near future advancing in my current career as Federal Employee in the Veterans Administration Healthcare Office and to keep helping veterans like myself transition into the civilian world which in many cases is a hard thing to do since we all come from so many different backgrounds to serve our nation. In most cases right after we separate from service it is a transition which leaves a big void not many can handle and unfortunately spins our lives out of control until we settle into the normal routine of life.