Faces of Dreamers: Rosa Sanchez, TheDream.US Scholarship Recipient

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 in September 2017 to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA.

Despite being a leader in her California high school and one of the top students in her class, reports TIME, Rosa Sanchez has struggled to grapple with the idea that she may not be able to attend college because she can’t afford it.

While applying for college can be stressful for any student, Sanchez says her status as a Dreamer has made it worse. As DACA recipients, Dreamers are not eligible for federal student financial aid. But Sanchez found out last week that she is one of 1,200 students who will gain a financial boost from TheDream.Us, the nation’s largest scholarship program for so-called Dreamers.

Now, Sanchez is looking forward to working toward becoming a neurosurgeon. But with DACA and Dreamers still in limbo and Congress so far failing to offer a permanent legislative solution, she remains weighed down by the realities of her life, she says in the article.

“I’m a DACA student and I’m really afraid of what people might think of me if I go up to them at the stadium and say hey, this is me. I’m your valedictorian. What are they going to think, you know?”

To read the entire story, which includes a look at what institutions such as City University of New York, a TheDream.Us partner, are doing to support Dreamers, click here.