Showing the way

By Chris Lopez

Applying to college, for those who chose to, is a huge milestone. I myself am graduating, I've already applied to college, and when you reach that point, you really begin to realize that this is what you’ve been working towards.

For some it’s simple, especially nowadays where all the information you need is usually online, you just buy your applications, fill them out, and if you need to you also fill out applications for financial aid and scholarships.

But this is not so simple for students who are undocumented. A lot of uncertainties and obstacles can arise, one can be ill informed or one can just not have anyone who can help them navigate their way. Such was the case for my sister Maria, who hit many brick walls and had trouble adapting to the road to college as an undocumented student.

As a senior, she wasn’t entirely prepared to go to college, as her high school wasn’t equipped with the information to help her out. Resources were limited for her, and she didn’t have many people to turn to for help once it was known that she was undocumented.

Maria: “they were supportive, in terms of like the first three years of my time in high school. I was a really good student, I had really good grades and a high GPA. And so they told me: you should make sure to be aware of what's out there beyond high school… But at the end, once they found out that I didn't have a social security number, they didn't really know what to do with me anymore… they couldn’t even connect me to anybody else… so I don't feel like they were very equipped, like they didn't have the tools to support me.”

Under these circumstances, it can be difficult for any student to find their way through college. With limited resources, many can and do fall behind. For undocumented students, the obstacles are even harder. Limited support, and a lack of relevant information that could help one find ways to pay for college or find a form of income without a work permit.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and college support groups are limited, as they are typically not meant for undocumented students nor are they even allowed to reach out to undocumented students

Maria: “The biggest barriers are financial aid, undocumented students dont have access to federal finacnial aid… i think its a huge challenge because we have the california dream act which is state funding for undocumented students, but thats still very limited, so I would see the type of financial aid packages that my friends would get from FAFSA, and compared to the financial aid package that I would get from the state, it was significantly different.”

Aside from the lack of government funding, Maria also faced a lack of information helpful to her as an undocumented student to navigate college, as opposed to today where information is everywhere and instantaneous Information wasn't as widespread and readily available even 10 years ago.

Maria: “so a lot of scholarships, I would apply to, and at the end it would require your signature stating that you were a US citizen or a permanent resident, I just did all that work, I just did an essay, I asked for reference letters, I filled out the application, and at the end you're telling me I need to be a US citizen or a permanent resident and it was very frustrating… now theres whole databases of scholarships for undocumented students, but in 2011- 2012 there wasnt that much information out just yet.”

And considering that a lot of college support groups are federally funded, they arent allowed to reach out to undocumented students.

Maria: “I think that a lot of the college support programs that exist in college campuses, or even high schools, they’re limited to only US citizens and permanent residents because they receive funding from the federal government… the only state funded program that im aware of is EOP and Guardian Scholars but guardian scholars is very specific… EOP is more geared towards first gen… its very competitive”

The lack of support didn't help much either, her counselor, teachers, and the staff in general weren't equipped to help her. And as a result, she struggled. And aside from scholarships, state funding wasn't as well known at the time, as Maria wasn’t even made aware of the money she could’ve received from the state.

Maria: “I didn’t know about the California dream act until my last year of my undergrad. So that whole time I was pretty much paying full tuition.”

And as an undocumented student, Maria often had trouble finding support from her schools, but also from other undocumented students, which resulted in a lack of community.

Given that talking about one’s citizenship status isnt the most comfortable thing, Maria didnt receive a sense of community with other undocumented students, neither did she feel comfortable about talking about her status, lest she accidentally overshare with people.

Maria: “I think it was also difficult to build community, there was a lot of fear behind talking about your status. So it wasn't like how i am now, and i'm at the age, i'm a lot more comfortable now in my identity. I do say that being undocumented is a forced identity, its not someting youre born with, but its something that systemically you are because of laws and politics. So it's a forced identity. So building community with other undocumented students was difficult during my community college years, and then that has you forgetting about this identity, so when i transferred to a university, really paying attention to the type of support that i would receive, I wasnt researching that, it just didnt klik how important it was until i was actually at the university and i was like “oh dang theres no dream center, theres one person i could go and ask questions to without telling everybody my status.” Like I dont wanna tell my teacher, I dont wanna tell my counselors. So I should’ve paid attention to that.”

Going through college isnt the easiest thing in the world, and as an undocumented students, one needs to develop resilience because the obstacles are many and include lack of resources to help Undocumetned students navigate, or finding community, but actually pushing will allow you to find your way and can possibly lead to helping others by pointing out certain issues.

During her undergraduate years, Maria had to continue to face draw back after draw back, and in doing so, she found a way to reach out and help others.

Maria: “Being undcoumented made me very aware of the resources lacking in higher education, and the lack of awareness. So I advocated a lot for myself, and co-founded a club with one of my peers in undergrad… we kinda co-founded this club together and so it kinda made me think “how come I don't have the resources? How come i dont have someone in a higher position in the university advocating for me?” And then the Trump administration was coming into play, or when they were campaigning for his presidency. I think it grew fear but it also grew resilience. Because that made us as a group kind of “We have to be prepared for whatever. And we have to push for the resources. And push for protection from our institution because we still pay tuition and we still pay fees.” And so if something were to happen from a federal level, we have to receive protection from the state level and from our university.”

And in experiencing all of this, she found what she enjoys doing, focusing on social justice as an advocate for undocumented students

Maria: When I was about to graduate, someone asked me what my dream job was. And it was like “ I want to advocate for students that are not protected the same way” And so that kinda shifted my career path in the long run, cause I felt like I was very centered on social justice and social inequality and focused on marginalized communities. And that's what I'm doing currently as post undergrad and now in graduate school, it's what I'm focusing my career on.”

And as an advocate she found an array of different obstacles that incoming students often faced, which often include discouragement, difficulty finding a source of income, unfamiliarities with DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and the California dream act

For example DACA and the California dream act are often confused since they both help with tuition, but FAFSA requires a social security number since its federal money while the California dream act doesn’t.

Maria: I started working in my position in October, 2017, and so for that it was ok because I was focusing a lot of my work on building awareness making sure they look to the california dream act, being aware of scholarships and grants that they could apply to. Also very focused on peer to peer training. And then 2 years later so in 2019 I started getting incoming students who had never had DACA, because they were cut off from it when Trump came in. That's when i was like “Oh this is a set of whole new problems” because these are students who don't have DACA… they need it to generate income to pay for school. So that's where the new challenges were going to be coming in… since all the students I've had so far are DACAmented, and there's a wave of freshmen that are not. So that was a fairly new problem for me, cause even as a DACAmented person i didnt think about it.”

Additionally, the lack of support from families can inherit one's choices when it comes to navigating college. One can be bound to stay with their parents, or one may be pushed to choose to work and to avoid college.

Maria: “I didn't realize a lot of people didn’t have supportive parents. Even though my parents couldn't tell me “you have to fill out this application” or whatever. There are people who had parents literally either absent or like “why are you doing this” … because they didn't understand the educational system or how beneficial it is, they weren’t supportive and for my family it was “what do you need”... like when i was moving out to college my dad was trying to call friends to know where i can move to… a lot of people won't do that… that kept them in the home.

And for thoe of you who are also undocumented and are thinking of ways you can pay for college, my sister had this to say.

Maria: “Immigrants Rising, they’re based out in San francisco, and they focus on the empowerment and the agency of undocumented and immigrant people. So when i talk about the California dream act, they have a map like step by step on how to do that. I think educators can take that, learn that, and apply it to their highschools. They created this hashtag called undocu hustle, and that was generated into a whole website of how you can generate income using your skills, using your knowledge, your platform. What tax documents you're gonna have to use because you don't have a social security number, or because that's not employment, you're your own boss.”

As a graduate student, Maria has gained the navigational skills to go through college, and the abilities to help others. Which she gained through hardship and experience. She now helps other undocumented students to her best abilities and has helped create safespaces to build community with other undocumented students.

And learning about her experience and being able to benefit from her experience as she helps me with navigating college, has allowed me to gain a bit of those navigational skills, along with giving me a broader perspective of what it's like for those who don't have it as easy as me.