College as an undocumented/DACA student

My educational journey starts back in Mexico driven by my desire to break a legacy of poverty and domestic violence. I was born in the small indigenous community of Tecolcuautla, Guerrero. I lived in poverty there for four years and then in Acapulco, where my family struggled. Soon, my father decided to migrate to the United States. A few years later my mother joined him, and then my three siblings and I. Crossing the border as a young woman was one of the scariest moments of my life because many immigrants die trying, but I made it safe. I started high school in the United States being afraid, lost, and helpless because no one looked like me and I did not speak English. Nonetheless, I was determined and soon I was speaking English and began contemplating college options.

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A Defining Moment

But then, a defining moment close to my graduation affected my trajectory.  My counselor went over college options and financial aid. When she asked for my social security number, I had no idea what that meant. That evening, my mother told me that I did not have one. She said that if I told anyone about being undocumented, we could be separated and deported. I was in shock and angry at my parents for bringing me, for hiding my status, and for putting me in a situation that jeopardized my dream to go to college. Nonetheless, my counselor advocated for me and was able to get me a private scholarship to start college.

 

Decisions

Without financial aid, my only choice was the local community college. I lived at home and paid my tuition. I studied and worked part-time. I felt very isolated. I wanted to quit because of the lack of support for undocumented students. No one talked about undocumented students, there were no student organizations for Latinx students, and the only faculty of color was my Latin America history professor. Since this resembled my high school experience, I had learned to accept it. After earning my associates degree, I questioned staying in the United States or going back to Mexico. Though I was undocumented, I still had just enough documentation to function in the United States: a driver’s license, a tax identification number (ITIN), and work that paid in cash. But I wanted to become a journalist and knew that if my status did not change I could not.  I decided to stay. I had nothing left back in Mexico: no family, no ID or job, and as a young woman living alone could be very dangerous. I applied to the University of Oregon and got accepted. I moved to Eugene, and four years later I finished my bachelor’s degree. To pay for school I sold cell phones inside a Mexican grocery store.

 

Undocumented, Isolated, and Fearful

And since DACA was not existent at this time, it became clear to me that if I wanted to graduate from the UO I had to keep my status a secret. Nonetheless, Eduardo’s struggles with the UO admissions office sparked my desire to help other undocumented students to access and thrive in college.

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DACA and New Opportunities

A year later I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and started a family. When President Obama announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) I immediately applied and was granted DACA status in 2012. I could work legally and rethought my professional goals. But no one would hire me because I did not have any internship or professional experience. I also lacked references because I had not cultivated relationships with faculty. I realized that I had to get experience and meet people. I did a one-year internship at a private K-12 school in Eugene and at a childcare center. Eventually, I got hired as a financial aid representative at a community college. In this position, I learned about the struggles of other undocumented/DACAmented students, some were similar to mine and others not, and helped them to get access to higher education. In this role, I identified a need to develop a mentoring program for DACA/undocumented students because I believed that this could help meet the needs of undocumented/DACAmented students. Such a program could build community to foster a sense of belonging; assist with students’ financial needs; provide mental health and legal support; offer identity support workshops; and overall, help them thrive in academic and non-academic areas in college. After four years of actively advocating, I became disappointed with the lack of support for this mentoring program from institutional leaders. I applied to graduate school because I concluded that I needed to get additional credentials to put me in a position where I could support noncitizen students. With admission to Oregon State University’s College Student Services Administration (CSSA) program and with a Graduate Teaching Assistantship advising in the Ethnic Studies department, a tuition remission, and a stipend, the decision to quit my job was easy. Read more about my journey here.

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Today

My current role is as a Career and Academic advisor at the school of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon where I have been since August of 2021. I'm very excited for this new opportunity to learn, grow, and make a difference in people's lives.

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