Most college DREAMers have very limited resources. One of our biggest concerns is how to fund for the next school year. There are very few private scholarships out there that do not ask for a social security number. It is difficult for any DREAMer to obtain scholarships because of strong competition with other students, and therefore we have to stand out. My scholarships for the most part are not renewable. That means that every year I have to go on a hunt for scholarships. It is an emotional roller coaster that requires me to learn how to balance school and extracurricular activities. I have to be an outstanding student with building pressure to always earn A’s so I stand out from all the other scholarship applicants. If I accomplish all this, there is still a possibility that I won’t get the scholarship. That’s the struggle we DREAMers face every year. When we are lucky enough to win scholarship money, we still have to fill out a form that asks us for our social security number. This just makes the journey difficult. Some DREAMERS I know do not receive any scholarship money and have been forced to leave school. Others don’t reach their goal of obtaining straight A’s or being involved, so we end up feeling unaccomplished. Even with many new scholarship funds created for DREAMers, many DREAMERs do not have the necessary financial support.
At Northern Illinois University I’m involved in a group called DREAM Action NIU. This group has been my home away from home. We talk about what is going on in the United States related to immigration. It is composed of allies and DREAMERS, including faculty members and other students. One of our major goals is to raise enough money for scholarships for DREAMers we give out at the end of each school year. DREAM Action NIU usually sells food at Latino events and other places that the school lets us. We also fundraise in other ways such as selling t-shirts with our logo.
I wanted NIU President Baker to see the hard work we put into building the funds for the scholarships, so I invited him to a car show on campus where we were fundraising. He attended the event and for the first time met some of the DREAM Action NIU members. He even bought our shirts!
100% of the funds we raise go to DREAMer scholarships. In recent years more faculty members have noticed and now they support us. With hard work last year was the first year we awarded four scholarships of $500 each. As a group we know what a difficult issue this is. DREAM Action provides support to each other. Although we have been successful in fundraising, it is always hard to pick a winner.
It is very difficult to get through each year like this, wondering, “Will I be “˜good’ enough to receive any scholarships? Are the groups I am involved in the right once that will provide me with scholarships?” When I don’t earn an A in my class I feel like the world is coming down on me because that means my GPA is going down. This means I would not stand out when it comes to picking a winner for the scholarships. If I do not receive enough private funds then I will not come back even with all the hard work I put in. NIU has a rule that is essentially, “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” if you are undocumented. They do it to protect themselves, but I cannot express my true struggles and my true needs without disclosing my immigration status. Sometimes DREAMers like me just end up losing hope. It is in those moments we can realize our strength.
Interested in learning more about scholarships for DREAMers and DACA students? Read more here.
