American Dream Fund

The inspiration for this fund roots from my personal experience coming to the US as an undocumented 9-year-old along with my mother and brother to meet with my father who had left Mexico to provide for us when I was 4 years old. He came to the US chasing the famous “American Dream” in hopes of providing us with a better brighter future. Growing up in the United States I experienced a lot of racism because I did not speak the language and because of my legal status. As time went by and I learned the language I started realizing that besides not speaking English I was different than a lot of my friends, I did not have a legal status and during my high school years I became well aware of some of the barriers and roadblocks this would put on my journey to college. First off, I was not able to apply for FASFA, second a lot of the scholarships I researched stated that they were for “US Citizens” and lastly, I knew for sure my parents would not be able to afford putting me through college. I was able to get a few scholarships which went towards helping family with expenses, and was working a fulltime job a part time job and for a short period of time attending community college. It did not take long before I realized that the load was weighing me and I had to make a choice to continue working. Thankfully after a bill passed by Obama Administration I was able to apply for DACA (deferred action for childhood arrivals) and start a job as a part time teller not knowing I would make a career out of it.

This fund will go towards supporting someone from the LatinX community who has a similar experience and who wants to chase their “American Dream” and pursue higher education. This fund is intended for someone who has demonstrated their ability to overcome adversity and who shares their empathy with others in a loving manner.