Maria of Texas A&M San Antonio is TheDream.US’ “DREAMer of the Week”

For Immediate Release: April 2, 2020

Contact: Carli Kientzle at [email protected]

 

Maria of Texas A&M San Antonio is TheDream.US’ “DREAMer of the Week”

 

Washington, DC – TheDream.US, the nation’s largest college access and success program for undocumented immigrant youth, is continuing its “DREAMer of the Week” feature – a weekly profile of a TheDream.US Scholar whose story offers a powerful example of the incalculable contributions of DREAMers to America.

 

This week’s DREAMer is Maria, a Scholar of Texas A&M San Antonio:

I’ve always known that I want a career that helps people, but I never knew which career would be best for me. Now, I know that, as a nurse, I will be able to truly help my community. My goal is to obtain my bachelor’s degree, work for a year to gain experience, and then obtain my master’s to become a nurse anesthetist (CRNA). I want to buy my parents a house and give my mother the garden she’s longed dreamed of. That is when I will know I made it in life, and that the sacrifices were worth it. Those dreams are impossible without college, and college wouldn’t be possible without TheDream.US.

I’ve always struggled with my status and wished that I was a citizen so things would come easier for me. At times I even hated my own skin color and thought that I was never enough in this country. But now I am proud. I am proud that I was made from my parents struggles and that I was the first one from my family to complete high school and pursue a career. I am proud to be an undocumented student defying the stereotypes that America had for me. I am proud that I’ll set the example for my siblings. But mostly I am thankful for my parents for working non-stop in order, so we could have a better life.

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TheDream.US has provided over 5,000 college scholarships to DREAMers at more than 70 partner colleges in 16 states and Washington, DC.

The Scholars’ stories are especially powerful and poignant following the Supreme Court oral arguments on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an executive action, which provided temporary legal protection for undocumented youth, terminated by President Trump in September 2017. The legal limbo and uncertainty is affecting Scholars’ lives, health, and futures and threatens to keep Scholars from fulfilling their incredible potential.

• Read through TheDream.US Scholar story-bank, featuring powerful personal reflections from Scholars about their lives, journeys, and future goals here
  
• Hear from two TheDream.US graduates, now working as a teacher and a nurse, discussing the impact of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program online here
• Watch a new video featuring TheDream.US college graduates online here

 

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