Undocumented Graduate Student Specialist & Marco Antonio Firebaugh Scholars Coordinator, Office for Graduate Diversity at UC Berkeley
10,000 Degrees Alum
“Higher education didn’t seem like a possibility for me when I first started looking into colleges. I felt discouraged because of my immigration status. My family and friends didn’t have first-hand knowledge and couldn’t support me in this process.
I saw education as a survival mechanism, and as an additional tool to sustain myself and my community. Being an educator now and being on the other side, I’m able to assess what the needs are for undocumented students and pave the way for others to make it through college and beyond. I’m very grateful for the support I received from 10,000 Degrees when I was a student and wanted to return the appreciation to 10,000 Degrees. That’s one of the reasons why I joined the Contra Costa Advisory Board.”