Marvin Garcia joined the NMH community in 2021, after serving as associate director of admission and financial aid at the Church Farm School. He is a graduate of the University at Albany, where he studied public policy, and Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, where he received his master’s in public administration. In 2022, he joined the Board of Trustees of the San Miguel Program, which serves families in Newburgh, New York, a city challenged by poverty and high rates of violence. The San Miguel Academy offers a high-quality education and ongoing academic support to middle school students.

What brought you to NMH? I worked at my high school alma mater’s admission office for 11 years. It was a great experience, but to grow I needed to experience a different admission office atmosphere. I came across the opportunity at NMH through a minority recruitment website. NMH provided an opportunity for growth in an inclusive, forward-thinking school. I was interested in how the school talked about diversity and social justice work and social awareness, and in the environmentally conscious community.

What do you love about your work? What motivates you? I love my job — the fact that I am able to work with families in many different ways but especially in providing them opportunities to access a world-class education. I am privileged to work in an institution that really cares about providing the financial resources to ensure eligible students can be part of this community. NMH thinks about experience, not just tuition aid but all the other pieces that make up the student’s and family’s NMH experience.

My own background motivates me to reach out to schools and organizations throughout the U.S. that work with students and families who do not know the opportunities that exist. I am an immigrant from Nicaragua who came with his family to New York at the age of 7. I attended public school in East Harlem (Spanish Harlem) through 8th grade. Luckily, my 8th grade science teacher identified me to connect with the Boy’s Club of NY, which supported students to apply and matriculate at independent day and boarding schools throughout the U.S. I can see myself in a number of the students who I work with, from the original introductory presentation to matriculation. Giving back and serving in this way motivates me to reach out to new spaces every year.

What are your short- and long-term goals? For a long-term goal, I like our school’s goal: to ensure that our student population is representative of our country’s diverse population. Another long-term goal is to adopt the more equitable phrase “need-based scholarship” rather than financial aid.

My short-term goals: to continue growing our NMH brand. To work more directly with our Anderson Scholars Program for students of color who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement and leadership potential.

To ensure that families are aware of the ways we are accessible to support them, such as our “Mastering the Application” workshop on financial aid and our office hours for families. To expand the reach of our office.

What are your hopes for NMH and for this campaign? NMH has a history of ensuring access and opportunity and has provided underrepresented students with transformative and life-changing experiences. It is my hope that we continue to grow and expand our reach and that NMH be known both within the independent school community and outside of it as an academic powerhouse that educates students holistically. My hope for the campaign is to reach our goals to allow our school to continue for the next 150 years.

What’s at stake for an independent school like NMH in this competitive marketplace? We are seeing independent schools shutter their doors due to financial constraints, schools being questioned for teaching all sides of our history, and the censorship of books and curricula. It is

essential for NMH to remain grounded in its principles and its mission to ensure we continue to educate students who will question and lead communities, organizations, and governments that will allow for differing views to be heard.