Yulissa Valencia
Undocumented Student at GCU
“I believe that through this Fellowship and meeting more people who have the same aspirations, passions, struggles, can help me to learn that I am not alone, and in this way learn that I too can help others feel that they too are not alone.”
Daniel Martinez Romero
Senior at Brophy College Preparatory
“Formative experiences such as this motivate me to continue fighting the good fight. I know this is just the beginning and being a member of the fellowship opens the doors of opportunity.”
Zabdi Hernandez
Undocumented Student at GCU
"With Aliento Fellowship, I will be able to gain skills and strategies that I can help out with, giving resources for students to prosper with their degrees. Along with educating them and advocating for the government to help us and support us to citizenship and give us more resources to continue to make changes in our communities."
Jose Morales
Senior at Bioscience High School
“Through the Aliento fellowship I hope to learn how to impact, strategize, and organize both events and people that will result in positive actions. I would also like to connect with the established influencers and their work to further my knowledge. By banding a group of talented students that have the same goal creates an energy that can solve social injustice.”
Adriana Aguilar
Senior at St. Mary Catholic High School
“I am looking forward to enhancing my work in social justice with Aliento's organizations that will constantly reaffirm my beliefs in the educational system and racial equality for everyone. Not only do I hope to grow more within my character by joining, but I also desire to add to the strong foundation that Aliento has molded for many young activists/allies like myself.”
Octavio Garcia
Sophomore at Arizona State University
“As someone that aspires to be an immigration lawyer, it is important to know how I can advocate for my community. By being part of the fellowship, I will be able to get the experience that I need in order to best help solve the problems in my community.”
Xiomara Flores
Senior at Mountain View High School
“Being able to be a part of this community is a real opportunity. To be able to join with the Aliento fellowship I hope to be a voice to those who can’t be a voice for themselves and do not have someone to advocate for them. With this new experience I hope to be a light to everyone around me with the new knowledge I will attain in this fellowship. It’s going to be a life changing experience to be surrounded with a team that cares about the same problems and injustices that others may not see.”
Nathalya Galvez
Junior at Arizona State University
“Aliento's Fellowship would help me gain more insight and a better sense of compassion for the undocumented community. Through my newfound experience in this fellowship, I would be even more motivated to pursue a career in law and advocate for issues affecting people of color. “
Miah Gomez
Senior at Mesa High School
I am an aspiring journalism and political science major. As a member of an immigrant family I hope to specialize my career and activism in advocating for immigration, social justice, and racial equality. I believe being a part of this fellowship will help me gain valuable skills that I can utilize in advocating for important issues.
Betsy Arcos Juan
Junior at Mesa High School
For years, I felt dispirited in the light of the world's inequality. But as I've gotten older, I've felt more sanguine. It would enthrall me to meet them with a better understanding of how to communicate with legislators – to those in power to achieve a world that is more fit for everyone. These are all crucial skills I could learn from the Aliento Fellowship.