I am honored to receive an award named after an individual who was himself an activist. Before I get into my involvement and the reason why I received this award, I want to share my story. I was born in a small town located in central Mexico. My family was struggling financially and in 2003 they decided to immigrate to the United States. I was 3 years old when I crossed the border with my mother and we were lucky to make it. I remember absolutely nothing about my homeland, so I grew up with no clue that I was an undocumented immigrant. Even when I found out that I was undocumented I didn’t understand what that meant. Being an undocumented student is a challenge. Our opportunities are limited because of our status. To be honest, at the start
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The thing that would have opened so many doors for me was removed and I thought that was it. That was the end of my dreams. I was devastated and tired. I had two options, go back to hiding in the shadows or fight for my right to stay in this country. I decided to go for the second option. So, I started attending actions and when junior year started I began attending the Youth Empowered in the Struggle meetings. Y.E.S. had a tremendous impact in my life. It helped me understand the power of my voice, of my story. Throughout my junior year, my Riverside Y.E.S. chapter has participated in several actions to fight for a CLEAN Dream ACT, one that does not throw our parents under the bus. Our first major action as a chapter was the March 5th rally in Racine. We were the smallest group, but the loudest. With elections coming up, I hope to empower young people to go out and vote because change needs to happen. This award belongs to my whole Y.E.S chapter, every single one of us put our heart and soul into our work. Finally, I want to thank the teachers who nominated me and a huge thanks to St. Benedict for facilitating this award, thank
The thing that would have opened so many doors for me was removed and I thought that was it. That was the end of my dreams. I was devastated and tired. I had two options, go back to hiding in the shadows or fight for my right to stay in this country. I decided to go for the second option. So, I started attending actions and when junior year started I began attending the Youth Empowered in the Struggle meetings. Y.E.S. had a tremendous impact in my life. It helped me understand the power of my voice, of my story. Throughout my junior year, my Riverside Y.E.S. chapter has participated in several actions to fight for a CLEAN Dream ACT, one that does not throw our parents under the bus. Our first major action as a chapter was the March 5th rally in Racine. We were the smallest group, but the loudest. With elections coming up, I hope to empower young people to go out and vote because change needs to happen. This award belongs to my whole Y.E.S chapter, every single one of us put our heart and soul into our work. Finally, I want to thank the teachers who nominated me and a huge thanks to St. Benedict for facilitating this award, thank