Posted on June 18, 2026 by Katelyn Juarez
For one UT San Antonio student, a class assignment rooted in family, identity and healing became an award-winning piece of scholarship that affirmed her future in academia.
Abril "Andi" Garcia Linn
Mexican American Studies student Abril “Andi” Garcia-Linn received top honors in the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS) Fredrick Cervantes Premio essay competition, in the undergraduate category.
The Premio carries a monetary honorarium of $350.00, the opportunity to submit the paper for publication review in the NACCS proceedings, and the opportunity to present the paper at the annual meetings.
Her essay, “Family Secrets: A Prelude to My Spiritual Path”, grew from an assignment in her Chicana Feminisms course taught by Sylvia Mendoza, assistant professor in the UT San Antonio Department of Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
“In the Chicana Feminisms class we were reading testimonio,” said Garcia-Linn. “One of the testimonio that I read really moved me, and I felt very connected to it. So, I decided to write my own.”
Garcia-Linn's essay explores the relationships and experiences that shaped her spiritual journey. 
“It was about my relationship with my sister and my family's influence on my spiritual path,” she said. “It was more about me and my journey in trying to help her.”
Drawing on the tradition of testimonio writing, the piece weaves together personal narrative and critical reflection. While deeply intimate, Garcia-Linn said the experience reinforced the power of storytelling as a tool for both understanding and education.
“This paper really helped me with the idea that my experiences are not just valid, but they’re also something I can use to teach something,” said Garcia-Linn. “How do I use what I’ve learned in my own life and connect it with other theorists and feminist writers and put that together and make it make sense, not just for other people, but for myself.”
Her passion for Mexican American Studies is rooted in her upbringing. Her parents met through Chicano Arts Theater during the Chicano Movement of the 1970s, and they instilled in her a strong sense of cultural pride and community responsibility.
“We grew up being proud of our culture,” Garcia-Linn said. “One of the things they taught us was to educate others. When we learn something, we need to teach what we learn.”
Garcia-Linn attended college in the 1990s and stepped away before completing her degree. Years later, she returned to higher education with a new perspective, all while continuing her work as an English as a Second Language teacher.
In addition to earning the essay award, she was recently accepted into the UT San Antonio McNair Scholars Program and learned that her work had been selected for presentation at an academic conference.
These recognitions helped solidify plans she had not previously considered.
“It made me think, ‘This is it. I’m going to grad school,’” she said. “The momentum is there, and this award was part of that.”
As an undergraduate, Garcia-Linn has already presented research at multiple conferences and enjoys blending creative expression with scholarship. Her work often incorporates oral histories, documentary filmmaking and poetry. 
Her upcoming McNair project continues that interdisciplinary approach. Titled, “How Art and Activism Heal Generational Trauma Through Maternal Bonds”, the project combines autoethnography, poetry and visual art to examine healing across generations.
“I want to write about the things that I’ve experienced because I think they can help other people,” she said. “I don’t live in a vacuum. I have to think about those things.”
Outside of the classroom, Garcia-Linn also helps cultivate spaces where others can find their voices. She is a founding member and co-host of a monthly poetry workshop and open mic through the Write Spot Collective, encouraging community members to share their stories and creativity.
As she prepares to graduate in December and apply to graduate programs, the NACCS award stands as a testament to the transformative power of education, storytelling and believing that one’s own experiences matter.
“It has been life changing,” Garcia-Linn said.
— Katelyn Juarez
