Aliento Voices: I worked too hard for too long to give up now
I am a first generation student from a single mother household. I am a senior at Metro Tech High School. My dream is to become a Mechanical Engineer. I came to the United States when I was six years old with my mother and older brother. My mother, traveled to the United States to provide a better life for my brother and I. She left everything she ever knew, her family, her culture, and her home for her children could dream of becoming engineers, doctors, and lawyers. While the American Dream might be dead to those born in the United States, it is very much alive for immigrants. My mother believed that if I worked hard enough, followed the rules, and listen to the advice of my teachers I would achieve the American Dream.
I ingrained myself in my community, in my school, and with teachers. I learned to speak fluent English within six months. I took advantage of the school system. I always thought that I was equal to my peers. We read the same books, spoke the same language, and shared the same morals. I never understood the reality that lacking an immigration status would create in my dream of becoming a Mechanical Engineer. I am not equal to my peers. I can’t get a driver's license, I can’t get a work permit, I don’t have access to instate tuition or scholarships. I was too young before President Trump ended the DACA program. While a federal DREAM Act would be the solution, I am not hopeful with this administration and this congress. So I have set my focus to Arizona lawmakers.
It was not until my freshman year of high school that I began to see my undocumented and DACA community get struck by this reality. We were faced with two choices: leave the state to attend a private university, hope that a private Arizona University would grant a scholarship, or join the workforce as an undocumented high school graduate with very little options. I have met many extraordinary individuals that have chosen either path. A friend like Zeus Ramirez, a bright young man who kept straight A’s and acquired a 31 on his ACT, put school to the side because he did not have the money necessary to attain higher education in Arizona. Because of personal reasons, leaving the state is not an option for many individuals. Other friends like Luis Cano left his family to travel across the country to Maine to become a mechanical engineer at Bowdoin College—a prestigious institution that covered his financial needs.
We are contributing to our communities, the state of Arizona & the country. We want to give back to a country that has provided us with the opportunities to better our country and want to make our communities better. So why are Arizona state lawmakers impeding Dreamers like me to have access to in-state tuition & scholarships when I have worked 12 years of my life to get good grades, follow the rules, and giving back to my community? I am the president of National Spanish Honors Society, Leader in Metro Tech’s Hispanic Business Organization, member of Metro Tech’s National Honors Society, I am in the top 2% of my class and an Aliento Fellow. However, my grades don’t matter. My test scores don’t matter. The endless hours of studying and breaking my head, of making my community better do not matter. Arizona State University cannot grant me in-state tuition or give me a scholarship due to the fact that I do not have a lawful status.
I worked too hard for too long to give up now. My mother has given up too much for me not to succeed. I will fulfill my dreams. I will become a Mechanical Engineer. The real question for Arizona lawmakers is will they continue to push students like me out of state or will they be courageous? Will Arizona lawmakers follow business leaders advice and provide in-state tuition & access to scholarships for all Arizona High School graduates regardless of immigration status? If not, students like Luis, Zeus, and me will continue to leave and most likely never come back.
