In January 2018, I will become the first undocumented student to graduate law school in Virginia, and one of four to do so in the nation. I will be the first black undocumented lawyer in the world—it matters. I will walk across the graduation stage, and I will not be alone: my father, a medical doctor who has healed Americans, will walk with me. My mother, a teacher who has educated Americans, will walk with me. My two big sisters, who empower me, will walk with me. And my younger brother, who inspires me, will walk with me.

I hold dear the importance of education—a human right—in the long march towards equality for all. Today, I’m heading to D.C. to discuss the urgent need to protect Dreamers with my Congress member and urge them to pass a #DreamActNow with FWD.us. I’m humbled to stand up for 800,000 other Dreamers in Virginia, Georgia, and across America.