For Immediate Release: May 21, 2020
Contact: Carli Kientzle at [email protected]
“Sara” of University of Texas-El Paso 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 “Sara,” a Scholar Grad of University of Texas-El Paso:
My first year of college was one of fear and uncertainty, because it was such a new and unfamiliar experience for me. I took an introductory course to Biology and it was my favorite class because the professor was fantastic. It was thanks to this professor that I got my first job as a Biology tutor at the University of Texas at El Paso. Tutoring was magnificent because I felt like I was giving something back to students that needed help understanding concepts.
The idea of giving something back is important to me – as a daughter, a student, a scholarship recipient, a college graduate, and as a Dreamer.
I came to the U.S. when I was just 3 years old. Language was a big barrier for me – throughout my elementary school years, I was enrolled in an ESL program. When my parents arrived in the US, my dad worked in construction to be able to bring any cash home he could for our home. He worked so hard just to provide for us all. Looking back on what my parents have left in Mexico, I have been lucky to have such wonderful parents who have looked after me and are still looking after my other siblings.
It is an honor to have been supported by TheDream.US. Their scholarships help us to become better citizens in this country by getting an education. TheDream.US helped me pay for my college education because my parents and I knew that it would have been difficult to pay ourselves. It allowed me to be the first college graduate of my family. It allowed me to pursue my dream job as a physician.
To anyone skeptical about protecting DREAMers: we only want to live and work in the United States, just like you do. We want to help the communities that saw us grow up from a young age. We are not here to steal or hurt anyone. This is our country, too and we are proud of it.
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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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