Michigan State University student Roberto “Marcos” Garcia received the nationally competitive Beinecke Scholarship, becoming the sixth MSU student to receive this prestigious award since the program launched in 1975. He was one of only 16 recipients selected from 93 nominees nationwide. The scholarship provides graduate school funding for third-year undergraduate students intending to pursue research-focused graduate study in the arts, humanities, or social sciences and is valued at $35,000.
For Garcia, an Honors College student double majoring in English through the College of Arts & Letters and Sociology through the College of Social Science, the recognition represents something larger than academic achievement. It is an opportunity to continue research and advocacy centered on one of the country’s most urgent and persistent social issues: homelessness.
“I am deeply honored to have been chosen as a recipient of the Beinecke Scholarship,” Garcia said. “I see this as an opportunity to pursue a career studying and advocating for one of America’s most neglected and devalued social groups: the unhoused.”
“I am deeply honored to have been chosen as a recipient of the Beinecke Scholarship. I see this as an opportunity to pursue a career studying and advocating for one of America’s most neglected and devalued social groups: the unhoused.”
Marcos Garcia
Born and raised in Lansing, Michigan, and a graduate of Waverly High School, Garcia is a first-generation college student who has built an undergraduate career around understanding housing insecurity and advocating for people experiencing homelessness. Through research, internships, and community engagement, he has focused on the structural causes of homelessness and policies that affect those at risk of losing housing.
“Engagement with the pressing issues of the day has always been MSU’s approach to our research, education, and outreach missions,” said MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D. “Marcos Garcia personifies that ideal with his impressive undergraduate research record and his continuing work to address the critical and persistent issue of homelessness. We applaud his accomplishments and his dedication, which make this recognition with the prestigious Beinecke Scholarship very well-earned.”
Garcia is a member of the Social Science Scholars Program, a research-focused cohort in the College of Social Science, and the 2025-2026 Community Engagement Scholars Program (CESP), an initiative of MSU’s Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) and the Office of the President in partnership with community organizations in Michigan. Through the CESP, Garcia worked with the Tenant Resource Center of Mid-Michigan to lead a donation drive that built over 100 resource kits to distribute to unhoused neighbors in Lansing. He previously served in the CESP’s 2023-2024 cohort, during which he partnered with the Allen Neighborhood Center in Lansing to help expand youth programming. He also has served as a team leader for CCEL’s Alternative Spring Breaks, guiding peers through weeklong service projects, and volunteered with fellow Spartans on Days of Service.
“Marcos is dedicated to understanding why nearly 800,000 people across America are unhoused on a typical night,” said John Waller, Associate Professor and Director of the Social Science Scholars Program and Garcia’s mentor. “As a researcher, intern, and volunteer, he has gained the ideal preparation for an academic career that makes intellectual contributions and helps to inform policy.”
Garcia has received multiple accolades for his community impact and advocacy work. He was one of four students nationwide to earn Campus Compact’s 2025-2026 Student Leadership Award, which recognizes students who demonstrate inspiring leadership through civic and community engagement. At the 2026 University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum (UURAF), Garcia, along with co-presenters Emily Porco, Rithi Aree, and Sumaiya Imad, received a first place award in the Digital Humanities category for their poster presentation, “Using an AI Chatbot to Address Housing Insecurity.” Garcia and Imad also received second place at the 2026 Honors Giving Back Awards for their housing insecurity work with the Tenant Resource Center of Mid-Michigan, and Garcia has earned multiple Spartan Volunteer Service Awards.
In September 2025, Campus Compact named him a 2025-2026 Newman Civic Fellow, which recognizes and supports community-committed students proactively working to address social, political, and environmental issues affecting communities. The fellowship provides students with opportunities for learning, networking, and collaborating to create positive change in their communities.
Garcia has conducted five research projects focusing on underrepresented and vulnerable populations. He currently serves as a research assistant for Stephen Przybylinski, Assistant Professor in the College of Social Science, on an independent project examining risk factors for homelessness in mid-Michigan. He also served as a research assistant for Donovan McCarty, Assistant Professor and Director of the MSU College of Law Housing Justice Clinic, on a project analyzing housing laws and co-designing an artificial intelligence chatbot intended to provide accurate legal advice to tenants at risk of eviction.
“Marcos is a positive force of community impact. He will continue to make a difference as a Beinecke Scholar.”
Glenn Chambers, Dean of MSU’s Honors College
In addition, Garcia worked as a research assistant for Heather McCauley, Associate Professor in the College of Social Science, on a project focused on Michigan’s homelessness crisis and potential solutions. He also conducted independent research on the complexities surrounding the Latino vote under the supervision of Michael Ristich, Academic Specialist in the College of Arts & Letters. The results of these research projects were presented at campus forums and conferences.
Garcia worked with the MSU Distinguished Student Awards Office to apply for the Beinecke Scholarship. This office is housed within the Honors College.
“Marcos is a positive force of community impact,” said Honors College Dean Glenn Chambers, Ph.D. “He has leveraged opportunities in the Honors College like the Giving Back Awards and Diversity Research Showcase to grow as a changemaker. He will continue to make a difference as a Beinecke Scholar.”
Adapted from the article by Anneliese Mackel, Kristin Janka, and Melanie Brender published on the Distinguished Student Awards Office website.
