By DIANA

I was born into a single-mother household in Tijuana, Mexico. When I was only six years old, my mother managed to get me and my two older siblings a tourist visa so that after two years of separation we could join her in California. I arrived the summer of 1998, just in time to attend 1st grade. Without any options to legalize their status, my family became “undocumented” when they overstayed their tourist visa. Although my brother was the first in my family to attend college, he unfortunately at that time did not qualify for financial aid at this public institution. Therefore, I was the first to graduate college and attend graduate school. In college, I felt an urgent need to increase the visibility of undocumented students. This resulted in my co-founding an immigrant rights awareness and support group for undocumented students and allies. I was fortunate to get DACA in 2013 and shortly after got my driver’s license and social security number at age 20. In 2014, I graduated from college with a B.A. in History and a minor in Chicano/a Latino/a Studies. In search of fulfilling my vocational aspirations to serve the immigrant community I applied and gained admission graduate school. Upon graduating with my Masters degree, I aspire to advocate for the educational equity of low-income, first-generation, and undocumented students via my work in higher education and the non-profit industry. My ultimate career goal would be to become the director of a resource center for undocumented students.

What motivated me to pursue a higher education:

Like many undocumented students, attending graduate school would give me a couple more years of security. It would delay the daunting challenge of joining the job market. I was one of those students who would say, “I’m staying in school and keep piling those degrees until immigration reform passes.” I was intellectually intrigued by the field of religious studies and wanted to pursue a degree that would not only engage me academically but would provide me with vocational training. My masters program was three years—which was just the right amount of time for me, not too long and not too short. My program had a lot of requirements, including a thesis paper; but what it allowed me to do was to explore my vocational interests. I was required to complete two field education units of my choice. My first placement included working for a immigration rights nonprofit; while my second one allowed me to work for a higher education office. I enjoyed working with both high school and college students and realized my desire to provide student services and institutional support to historically underserved students.

My biggest challenge in graduate school was moving across the country to an unknown city and without the support of my family and friends. I felt extremely homesick my first semester and was completely unprepared to face the winter storms. I had limited savings to pay for my transition costs and also did not anticipate how expensive it would be to live around the campus. Similar to my undergrad, I could not afford to go out and explore the city. In fact, I cooked homemade meals and took lunches to school throughout my entire three years in graduate school. Fortunately, I found a local church which has become a big part of my social support and remained connected to a core group of Latino peers on campus. Being out of state and with limited financial opportunities (due to my ineligibility for work-study and federal grants) meant I couldn’t go home to visit family and friends during Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. My school’s stipend allowed me to cover most of my housing but I picked up babysitting in order to pay for my food and personal expenses. I did not struggle academically because I felt like my undergraduate program prepared me really well but I did feel disconnected from the Latino and immigrant community due to my inability to get too involved my first year when I was transitioning into graduate school. Things got better when I became more involved on campus and joined activist efforts in support of workers and undocumented student issues. The weather never got better and made it difficult to exercise outdoors. Overall, finding Latinos passionate about social justice and a strong spiritual community allowed me to eventually find my rhythm in graduate school.

I would advice undocumented students to be proactive about their higher education research of undocu-friendly higher educational institutions. I recommend applying to more than one college/graduate program just in case you get rejected or do not obtain the proper financial aid package needed to attend that school. I applied to two graduate programs and even despite actively asking about my financial aid prospects for the other program they eventually were not able to solidify me with any financial aid assistance. Interested students should also connect with current undocumented students attending their prospective schools in order to learn about the “survival tips” or inside scoop on how to navigate that educational institution as an undocumented student. To have strong letters of recommendation, students should maintain close relationships with teachers or professors/mentors whom they plan to ask for a recommendation. Learning to network and to maintain professional relationships will in the long run equip students with the ability to pursue a higher education. Keep in mind that GRE scores are also not the determining factor of your admission. Don’t allow certain application requirements to intimidate you and always attempt to create your own opportunities where none exist. Try to get a fee waiver for your graduate school applications and do not wait until your senior year to do your research. Anticipate challenges but remember that you have already overcome so much and will continue to fight for your dreams!

Diana was born in Tijuana, Mexico and raised in the Greater Los Angeles area. She has navigated her entire educational journey as an undocumented/DACAmented student. Diana graduated from Pomona College with a B.A. in history and a minor in Latino/a Studies. While at Pomona, Diana felt an urgent need to increase the visibility of undocumented students and as a result co-founded an immigrant rights awareness and support group for undocumented students and allies on campus. She recently received her Master’s degree from Harvard University and aspires to promote educational equity for undocumented students and dreams of becoming the director of a resource center.

DON’T FORGET TO SHARE THIS PAGE WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

Don’t miss out on the latest resources available for undocumented students, make sure to “like” our page on Facebook. Please consider donating to our platform so we can provide more information and resources to help undocumented students and their families. Any amount helps!

At My Undocumented Life we provide up-to-date information and resources for undocumented immigrants and allies. We post scholarship opportunities that are open to undocumented students, strategies for navigating the educational system, information on how to apply for DACA/Advance Parole, news on DAPA, and much more. Most importantly, we want to provide a sense of community to our diverse group of readers. Learn more about our work here: “About Us“

Categories: UndocuGrads: Stories of former and current undocumented grad students

Tags: education, grad school, Immigration, UndocuGrad