With Justice For All, Amen.

“With Liberty and Justice for All”  

I have pledged to the American flag each day in class for over 15 years. I love this country and all of the people in it. Truly, I wish that my country were as safe, fun, and fair as the United States. Despite the fact that I have pledged to the US flag most of my life, I am still considered an undocumented citizen.  

Like most Americans, I have dreams and aspirations. This country is truly the land of opportunity. Where anything is possible with the right amount of determination. However, sometimes these opportunities become blocked by various factors. I am an illegal alien, I have no pride about it nor any option.    

In Summary: My academic and ultimate goal is to help others. As the first person to enter college in my family’s history, I have given hope and pride to my family. I have seen both of my parents work endlessly in order to provide for their four children. However, it has not been singlehandedly. Throughout life, there have been countless persons that have helped us along the way. Life is based on the interactions and assistance of others. I intend on earning a masters degree in nursing in order to help others at a critical time in their lives. I have been blessed with the opportunity to further my education, and I intend to take advantage of it. However, as an undocumented citizen my financial assistance is extremely limited. I have completed my basic core curriculum at an economical community college. This upcoming semester, I will start attending a larger university in order to finish my education; I need help in order to be able to continue my dreams of becoming someone in this land of opportunity. I am eager to be able to, in the future, pay forward any educational knowledge and scholarship to a student trying to get through college like me.    

My family endured our country as much as possible. My family was in the poorest conditions, no food, no adequate shelter, and no happiness. All that we had was each other. My parents both worked over sixty hours each in order to be able to provide for us. However, their hard work was not enough. Making an honest living became impossible. Therefore, we had to try something else. We made it to the United States with only the clothes on our back. With no family, no contacts, and no English, we had nowhere to turn. For a moment, this country seemed to be the opposite of what we thought. With the help of god through helpful and kindhearted people, we were given a place to sleep for a limited time. Quickly my parents found jobs and slowly we began a new life.  

I remember my first day of kindergarten; I believe I spent the entire day crying and suffering through. I had just moved into a new country and a week later I was thrown all by myself into a group of children who I could not communicate with. I would run home crying and begging for my parents to not take me back to that place I thought of as hell. I could tell the sadness in my parent’s eyes, but I did not want to go to school.  

Soon, I began to participate in class as much as I could. There was no ESL teacher as there is today in many schools. Thankfully my teacher was always patient with me. I am not sure how I began to learn, but I was able to (or maybe forced to) catch on quickly. I passed kindergarten by the skin of my teeth.   Soon, I began to match up to my classmates, and by the second grade I was an average student. I did not want to be an average student though.  

I am in my second year of higher education at my local community college. I currently hold a 4.00 Grade Point Average. I graduated in the top 8% of my high school graduating class. I am also a state scholar, national honor society, among other recognitions. I am currently the vice president for my community college’s government association, and secretary for my college’s honor society.   This next semester I will be attending a larger college and I will need more aid. One would think that a 4.00 student with a low financial income would be able to finish school without a problem. However, I am not so lucky. Most all scholarships exclude “Non Citizens.” Thankfully, I am not entirely undocumented. Due to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, I am granted a driver’s license and a temporary work permit. Illegal immigration is a debatable topic. I want to be a citizen, but I currently have no opportunity to apply for naturalization. I love this country, and the people here.  

I am a hard worker, I have been able to manage being a full time student, a full time retail employee, and volunteering for endless community service as a part of my extracurricular activities.    

I want to stress the fact that any educational aid I receive will be used for the sole purpose of education and that I will not stray from my goals. Furthermore, any educational knowledge or scholarship that I may receive, I will one day pay forward to another student like me who is trying to get through college.   We are all together in this nation under God.   Thank you.      

Feel free to contact me regarding any questions [email protected]   Please understand that I have left out names, schools, states, in order to protect my sensitive information. I would be happy to send proof of my accomplishments, 4.00 GPA average, letters of recommendation to anyone willing to help me. However, keep in mind I am afraid of placing my information out publicly.