AB 540 Students: Me

Friday, September 2, 2011

The past calls me today and I am quickly reminded that I have so much left to do in this world.  As the phone rings I am sure it is my husband calling, since I left home the only time my cell rings is when it’s him.  I am surprised when I hear a former colleague on the other end.  I have always been passionate about helping people especially young people like me.  Helping AB 540 students are what truly drive me.  Although an AB540 student myself I like to pass on the knowledge I have learned and motivate young people to keep their heads up and continue on this very difficult journey.  I feel like if they can see one person in their situation succeeding maybe they can believe it for themselves.  During my life in the U.S., I made it my business to be the person people called in my town to ask about AB540 students and ask how to help them.  I created power point presentation and packets to hand out and offered myself as a resource any time.  A few months before I was banished to Mexico I had made a very sad presentation to a group of about 75 bright and talented community college students.  Some of them were valedictorians and most of them were in the top percentiles in their high schools.  Students that could have been at some the country’s best schools but because they were “undocumented” they were left to attend the only affordable form of education, community college.  A teacher and part time counselor at the community college had heard about me and asked me to speak to these students.  Because of their intelligence and grades the school offered them a one year full scholarship for tuition and books but after the first year it was up to each student to pay for school.  The group had about 140+ students and she said that she would excuse the students and only the AB540 students would remain.  More than half of the room stayed to hear my lecture.  As I looked around the room the fear set in, they were looking at me hopeful that I had the answers to their problem.  Who did I think I was?  How did I ever think I could help them when I could barely help myself?  There were so many of them and it reminded me of how lonely I was when I thought I was the only one.  Here there was a room full of students in the same situation and all they could do was comfort each others pain because they could not be any more help to each other than I was now to them. 

I delivered my presentation and handed out the work that I have so diligently gathered over the last 10 years.  People were in tears and everyone was thankful.  I handed out my home made business cards to more students than I care to remember and everyone wanted to share their stories of triumph and failure.  We were all victims of the same situation and now were there to help each other heal.  The teacher that invited me was also very thankful and asked me to send her all the information I had delivered so she could continue to help students like us.  I emailed them to her on the spot, thanked her myself and wished her well.  Today, months after that presentation she was calling me to ask me to send her the information again.  She had transferred to a different community college and wanted to help other AB540 students there; she no longer had her previous email and was anxious for me to resend her the information.  I explained to her that I was in Mexico and was not sure I had access her to that information since I keep it in my hard drive at home.  I promised her to look in my email the next time I was at the internet café and send her what I could.  Once again we thanked each other; she wished me well and said she would keep me in her prayers in hope of a speedy return “home”.  Her call reminded me that I have so much left to do in this world.  That being undocumented is like having a scar or a tattoo you can’t get rid of.  You can try but the, scar or the ink will never truly fade and even after I have “papers” the pain and trauma will always remain with them, it is what drives me.  Thanks for the call Terrie it brought more hope than you know.