Unfortunately, when high school ended, I couldn’t attend the university of my dreams. I was getting all these acceptance letters, but I couldn’t go to any of these schools, because I didn’t have a social security number, and therefore I wasn’t eligible for financial aid. I couldn’t pursue the dreams that I had been hoping to. It affected me tremendously. But I did not let my undocumented status hold me back from living my life as normal as I could, in comparison to my friends.

I enrolled at Gateway Community College, where I worked very hard as Student Government Association President and graduated with a 3.8 GPA to then be able to attend Quinnipiac University. I graduated magna cum laude and earned my Bachelor’s degree in the May of 2016.