Finding Franchesca

Finding Franchesca: She Was Never Lost

By Megan Alvarez ENGL 336

Wise beyond her years is the impression 22 year old Franchesca Garland leaves after having a simple conversation with her. At the age of 14 the Baltimore native began the cosmetology program at Sollers Point Technical High School, and by the time she was 17 she had earned her cosmetology license. It was this vocational education that led a 16 year old Garland to obtaining a job working for the Aveda cosmetology company, a company that she later fell in love with and helped led her to where she is today.

Due to entering the professional work force at such a young age, Garland was left with more money than she knew to do with, so she began using her earnings to visit friends at other universities, which led her to her interest in attending Frostburg State University. The 3 years spent with Aveda got Garland interested in selling and promoting so much so that when she came to FSU she declared her major in Mass Communication with a double minor in Public Relations and Marketing.

Garland believes "College in general is the best opportunity for any person, it gets you to push your limits," which is why she decided to let go of her career in cosmetology and pursue what Frostburg had to offer her. But as it turns out, Garland had much more to offer Frostburg. Garland is an active member of the Marketing Club and has been a Freshman Orientation Peer Mentor for three semesters now because she feels this is her way to give back to the community. Garland further elaborated by taking the liberty to say, "I really enjoy the impact Frostburg has given me, so I just want to pay it forward," which is why she still continues to impact the campus even as a upperclassmen. Recently Garland joined the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, further proving that it is not too late to make a difference.

A firm believer that “it is important to travel and not vacation," Garland spent the Spring 2015 semester studying abroad in England and analyzing each culture. After her semester abroad, Garland created a blog called Finding Franchesca in order to educate others on what she has learned because she believes “people help people.”

In a time of self discovery Garland was able to take her experiences to become a better person, which is why she ended the conversation with the anonymous quote “your hands are empty until you learn to touch a soul.”

Franchesca Garland stands proud of her accomplishments on Frostburg State University's campus