DACA student at CWU navigates difficult waters

So when she visited a high school adviser to start discussing her undergraduate plans and was asked for a Social Security number, Maria learned she was different than the rest of her peers — she was undocumented.

“It was pretty heartbreaking, honestly,” Maria said. “I saw all of my friends leave to four-year institutions. They were going away and getting their own place.”

Maria felt like she had been a part of this group since she moved from Mexico with her parents when she was 10 years old. Now, she felt like she no longer belonged.

“I was about to give up,” Maria said. “I was like, ‘College is not for me. I’m not going to apply, why even waste my time.’”

Maria said her family was expecting her to get an education beyond high school, so she turned to Google with a simple question.

“How can an undocumented student go to college?” she typed into the search engine.

Read Maria's story in its entirety at the Daily Record.