Abstract: I am a nontraditional honors student. I do not refer to my age (I am 20), or that I did not start college right after high school (I did), or that I am independent of my family (I am not). I am the typical in every sense except one: I am undocumented. (KA) In the Kellogg Honors College at Cal Poly Pomona, I (SB) have encountered several high-achieving students who, after coming to trust me, have revealed themselves to me as undocumented. These students came to the United States as children through non-legal channels, generally brought by their families, who were searching for opportunities or for escape from dangerous, oppressive situations in their home countries. These students have recently become known as Dreamers, after the Dream Acts being debated in the highest levels of government in the United States. Often first-generation college students, they are usually economically disadvantaged. My family immigrated to the United States from Mexico in 1990 with dreams and hopes of a better life, like many other families in this country's history. My father, mother and their two- year old daughter (my older sister) began to build a life here. My mother became pregnant with me, and soon things began to go wrong. My parents lost their jobs and the place where they were living. It was a difficult situation for a pregnant woman and a small child, roaming the streets during the day looking for food, and sleeping on park benches at night. My mother decided to go back to Mexico, where I was born, and my father stayed in California. My first nine years were spent without my father. After almost a decade, my mother decided that it was time for the family to be reunited, and we returned to join my father. I started my life in the United States. I learned a new language and in a short time, through dedication and effort, became fluent in English. I went from being at the bottom of my class, the student that did not know one word of English, to the top of my class. When I graduated high school, I was Salutatorian with a 4.5 GPA. I decided on Cal Poly Pomona because I could not afford to pay for a private university or a University of California since I was ineligible to receive any kind of financial aid due to my undocumented status. I was also unable to work legally, and I feared deportation not only for myself, but for my family as well. Being undocumented, I can't get a driver's license. I use public transportation to get to school and back, a daily two-hour commute. Most of my required classes are in the afternoon, and there have been many quarters where I often waited for the bus at 10 or 11 pm. I was scared, but my dreams of an education and the struggles of my family kept me determined. Honors programs and directors can greatly assist these motivated, talented students. The first important step is simply to recognize their background and the unique challenges they face because they do not have a legal identity. Simple advantages and opportunities that many traditional students take for granted--receiving financial aid, being able to travel to a conference, doing study abroad, and having employment--are unavailable to these students because they require a social security number or driver's license. Perhaps even more seriously, many undocumented students enter higher education with academic and emotional challenges that need to be understood and addressed by student affairs professionals (Perez, Cortez, et al.). A 1982 Supreme Court decision granted access to K-12 education for undocumented students, but only 10% of males and 16% of females enroll in college (Fortuny et al. 50). Among these small percentages are valedictorians, honors students, and academic and athletic award winners. Although many undocumented high school students are demonstrated student leaders with records of outstanding academic achievement, their higher education prospects in the United States are limited due to their legal status. …
Publication Year: 2013
Publication Date: 2013-03-22
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 1
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