A student who was a child actress in Mexico is now starring in a university promotional film.

Ana Garcia, who is in her second year of a forensic investigation and psychology course at the University of Winchester, is featured in the university's new film, 'Your Place to Become'.

In the film, Ana plays a student who becomes a forensic investigator.

Ana is no stranger to the camera, having appeared in several telenovelas, short films and stage productions in her native Mexico.

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Ana acting in Mexican telenovela (Image: University of Winchester) Despite her acting talent, Ana was always more interested in psychology, reading her grandfather’s books on Freud from an early age. Her passion for the subject brought her to Winchester.

Ana was born in Mexico City and grew up in Cuernavaca.

At 14, Ana and her brother moved to Miami to escape the growing violence linked to rival drug cartels.

She said the move to the US was difficult and she struggled with her mental health as she adjusted to a new country.

Setting herself the goal of becoming the first in her family to go to university was one of the ways Ana coped with her new life.

Ana said: "I felt really lost but this was the one thing I wanted to do and when people told me I couldn’t, I set out to prove them wrong."

Ana enjoyed her high school psychology classes and said her professor there was one of the people who encouraged her to get to university.

She said: "I was really interested in forensics and psychology, and I had a clear vision that I wanted to go to England.

"I first found out about the University of Winchester on the internet when I was 13.

"Winchester looked such a friendly place, and I kept it in the back of my mind."

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Ana in a still taken from a Place to Become (Image: University of Winchester) Ana said the university and city lived up to her expectations.

She said: "My favourite thing about the university is the sense of community.

"If I am having a problem there is always someone I can talk to."

Ana hopes to continue her studies at Winchester as a postgraduate and would like to draw on her childhood experiences for a dissertation.

She said: "I grew up surrounded by crime in Mexico and I’m interested in why some people become involved in crime while others don’t."

In addition to her studies, Ana is an international student ambassador.