This LGBTQ History Month, San Diego College of Continuing Education is spotlighting Jeremy Garcia, a mental health counselor with the Be Well program whose story reflects courage, intersectionality, and belonging.

Garcia, 28, grew up in Orange County, with roots from Jalisco, Mexico. “Embracing both sides of my identity has been a lifelong process,” he says. “In Mexican culture, masculinity often comes with stigmas, what makes a man, how emotions should or shouldn’t be expressed. I had to learn to hold space for both my cultural roots and my authentic self.”

Garcia realized he was gay at the end of elementary school but didn’t come out to his family until his senior year of high school. “It wasn’t because they weren’t loving,” he explains. “It was rooted in inner shame. At the same time, I was deeply involved in my church, I led the worship band and mentored a youth group. My faith gave me community, but this also created inner conflict. How could I be both gay and deeply spiritual in a world that often saw those identities as incompatible?”

Those questions shaped both his personal growth and career path. A psychology class at San Diego State University (SDSU) opened his eyes to mental health and its potential as a career. “Now, when I work with students, I always consider what might be the underlying factors here, and how can we tend to those so they can thrive in their academics while they honor their culture and identity?"

With both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from SDSU, Garcia joined the College of Continuing Education to serve its diverse student community. “I wanted to bring together my love for mental health and education,” he says. “This is such a transformative time in students’ lives as they discover who they are and where they want to go, and it brings me much joy to be part of their development.”

Through Continuing Education’s Be Well program, Garcia helps break down stigma around mental health and identity. “In practice, that means sitting with students without judgment and centering their lived experiences in a gentle, curious way,” he says. “I often ask them to identify their top values and help them find ways to live those values daily, to lean into what serves them and to take a step back from what no longer does.”

For Garcia, authenticity and representation are at the heart of Continuing Education’s mission. “Being Mexican and gay, I’ve often felt ‘othered’, not Hispanic enough in some spaces or not fitting the mold in others,” he says. “But those experiences taught me how important representation is. Students, especially the students we serve here, consume enough messages that say ‘you don't belong’.”

Programs like Black Student Success, Immigrant Student Success, the Pride Center, Be Well, and events such as National Coming Out Day remind students that they have a safe place at the College of Continuing Education. “In a time when LGBTQ+ identities are constantly being questioned, it’s vital that we continue to affirm our students,” Garcia says. “We want every person here to feel seen, supported, and valued.”

Garcia is also excited about SDCCE’s new partnership with TimelyCare, an app which offers students free, 24/7 medical and mental health telehealth services. “Our vision is for every campus to operate from a mental health and trauma informed lens,” he says. “As my colleague Janisha says, ‘Each one, teach one.’ Once we learn how to support each other’s well-being, we build stronger, more compassionate communities and should be paying it forward.”

Launched virtually in 2022, Be Well has grown into a full-time, on-campus resource offering free counseling, referrals, and holistic wellness programming.

For more information about Be Well please visit this resource page, or find the class schedule at SDCCE.EDU.