Hi! I am Marlene Garcia. I am proudly an NMSU Alumni. I got my bachelor’s degree in Animation and Visual Effects in Spring 2023. During my last year at NMSU, I worked as a TA for the Creative Media Institute while I worked on my Senior Project. I started to discover my passion to help students at this time. After I graduated, I worked for an animation studio based on Iceland for about a year and a few months. I got an opportunity to teach 2D Compositing and FX for NMSU in Fall 2024. I enjoyed my time as a professor so much. Finally, I got the opportunity to be an Academic Advisor for NMSU July 2025.

I have not left behind my passion for Animation and Visual Effects. In my free time, I like either research new techniques or put into practice what I was taught during my time at NMSU. I would like to start publishing small projects on the side eventually.

Before I moved to NMSU, I had no advisor. They didn’t offer advising for my career at my previous institution. I was a freshman who had no idea what classes I should take to graduate. I tried to the best of my ability to choose the right path, but I didn’t. I was a junior when I finally got an advisor for my major, and they told me I was missing three more years of college. I decided to transfer to NMSU to pursue another career. I had my assigned advisor, and I thank him deeply for helping, explaining, and making sure I was in the right path. With this experience, I then realized how important and crucial advisors are in the student’s pathway of success. I decided to become an advisor to help every possible student I can, so they don’t go through the same things I did.