My #UMNFirst Story

I was born in El Salvador to a Honduran-Salvadoran mother and Salvadoran father. After the devastations our country suffered after a civil war and various natural disasters, my parents decided to bring me along in their migration journey to the United States in 2001; I was only 2 years old. I grew up navigating two different worlds. As the oldest child, and as a female, I felt the added pressure of succeeding and being a role model. I grew up witnessing my parents work-hard, and I also witnessed their own struggles in navigating a new world. I knew I wanted to show them that their decisions weren't in vain. I faced an added challenge to my life when I became a teen mom at 15 years old. I decided that I was not going to give up on my dreams. With the continuous support of my parents, I managed to finish high school and my AA-degree at the same time. I entered the U of M as a junior, and graduated with my B.A. in Chicano/Latino Studies when I was 20 years old. It was hard because I had to apply to financial aid outside of FAFSA since I am not a U.S.-Citizen. I had to learn to navigate the higher education system with outside support since my parents did not understand how everything worked. Due to my various struggles as an immigrant, I knew I wanted to work in immigration law; this pushed me to apply to law school. I was accepted to the law schools I applied to, with amazing scholarship offers. I am now a 1L at Mitchell Hamline School of Law.

I am extremely proud of myself for not only being the first person in my family to obtain a bachelor's degree, but I will also be the first to obtain a doctoral/professional degree. My son has been on this entire journey with me since high school. I know things are rough for both of us at times, but I hope he's able to look back to this journey, and realize how resilient and capable he is. These degrees are not only mine, but they also belong to him. We are currently attending law school in the middle of a pandemic, and I am so proud of him for sticking through it all with me! We are on a mission, and we will not stop until his mom is officially barred in the State of Minnesota.