Faces of Dreamers: Diana Montelongo, University of California, Berkeley Graduate

This is one in a series of posts on individual Dreamers, undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as young children, many of whom are under threat of deportation following the Trump administration’s decision last month to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA.

Diana Montelongo, a 23-year-old seventh-grade math teacher in Sacramento, CA, and a Teach for America corps member, is one of an estimated 20,000 DACA recipients who currently are teaching in K-12 classrooms, reports The 74, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news website covering education.

Those teachers could lose their jobs if Congress does not pass legislation permanently protecting Dreamers.

Montelongo, who graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, majored in development studies, which allowed her to explore poverty and how communities develop, with a particular focus on education as a way of improving communities.

“My students are aware of my status. I did come out to them post–election results, and the way I like to use it in the classroom is, no matter what your situation and how difficult it is for you to succeed, I’m proof that it is possible,” Montelongo said. “I can resonate with a lot of my students who come from similar backgrounds or know someone who also is undocumented.”

To read the full story, click here.