Natural disaster inspires UC scholar to pursue civil engineering
Speech at Choose Ohio First Showcase connects inclusion, innovation and community impact
Ambar Alvarez-Garcia once had a teacher tell her that no college would accept her.
Now a second-year civil engineering student and Choose Ohio First scholar at the University of Cincinnati, Alvarez-Garcia recently spoke at the 12th annual Choose Ohio First Scholar Showcase 2020 about her journey to college and discovering how supporting diversity in STEM could lead to more innovative problem-solving.
Alvarez-Garcia, a Mexican immigrant and American citizen, was inspired to become a civil engineer in 2017, when a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit several Mexican states. Seeing the destruction in her family's neighborhood in Mexico City, the homes that were lost and the fear that shook the residents motivated her to develop skills to prevent future damage from natural disasters.
"I wanted to use science to create solutions that gave me the ability to help others, even if they are a thousand miles away," said Alvarez-Garcia.
Alvarez-Garcia says both the scholarship program and experiental learning opportunities at UC have inspired her find a supportive community, embrace her identity, build confidence, develop leadership skills, empower others and realize what it takes for to create a better future for herself and the people around her.
"My parents gave up everything when they moved to the United States. They gave up their country, their language and their home so my sister and I could have a better life and education," said Alvarez-Garcia. "My parents' dream can become a reality...It is all thanks to Choose Ohio First."
Featured image at top: The Engineering Research Center, viewed from the roof of Lindner Hall. Photo/John Martini/UC Planning, Design & Construction.
Related Stories
Local media highlight completion of Blood Cancer Healing Center fourth and fifth floors
March 16, 2026
Local media including WLWT and the Cincinnati Business Courier highlighted the opening of research laboratories and the UC Osher Wellness Suite and Learning Kitchen at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center’s Blood Cancer Healing Center.
Trial results support weekly buprenorphine treatment of opioid use disorder during pregnancy
March 16, 2026
Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers led by the University of Cincinnati's John Winhusen published clinical trial results in JAMA Internal Medicine that found administering weekly injectable extended-release buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder during pregnancy led to higher rates of abstinence from illicit opioids than buprenorphine given daily under the tongue, one of the standard methods of treatment.
Aerospace engineer studying bio-inspired flight
March 16, 2026
Doctoral candidate Ahmed Elgohary chose the University of Cincinnati to further his education in aerospace engineering. Part of the Modeling, Dynamics, and Control Lab, he has conducted meaningful research work in the areas of nonlinear control systems and bio-inspired flight. Recently, he was named Graduate Student Engineer of the Month from the College of Engineering and Applied Science.