Mia Garcia-Hills
Director of Student Veteran Affairs
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About
Dr. Mia Garcia-Hills joined the Student Affairs team as Director of Student Veterans Affairs in 2021. Offering quality leadership, support, programming, and advocacy for our student veteran and military connected population is the top priority. As a proud daughter of a Korean War Army veteran, Mia is grateful for the opportunity to combine her passion for improving college student retention and advancing progress toward graduation with her commitment to honor and serve veteran and military connected students at her alma mater.
Mia is a Yoga Alliance certified 500 RYT and also completed YogaFit for Warriors Trauma Sensitive Teacher Training to help her better assist and accommodate veterans and others who may have experienced trauma. She takes seriously her responsibility to ensure UIC’s student veterans maximize their use not only of federal and state military benefits, but also UIC’s extensive academic, financial, health and wellness resources to meet their educational goals. Mia advocates within and beyond the University to identify and clear barriers to success. Dr. Garcia-Hills and her team work to make the Cisar Student Veterans Center a vibrant hub for building community by increasing a sense of belonging for student veterans.
Mia graduated from UIC with a BFA in Art Education and Studio Arts, she earned her Master of Arts in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a PhD in Higher Education Leadership from Concordia University Chicago.