By John Newton, La Voz Latina, Savannah, Ga.
Carlos Sanchez moved to Statesboro, Georgia from Mexico as a teenager in 2003. Like many immigrants he had big dreams, all of them dependent on getting a good education. That part of his story may sound typical but how Carlos is making those dreams into a reality is not.
Undocumented, Carlos lived with an uncle and enrolled in a local high school for one semester before dropping out. He found steady work picking tobacco leaves in the morning, then waiting tables in a local restaurant in the evening. But Carlos wanted more from life so he moved to Tifton, Georgia and enrolled in the migrant-worker G.E.D. program at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC).
After earning his high-school equivalency degree, Carlos enrolled at ABAC for three semesters then transferred to Armstrong State University in Savannah. After his initial student scholarship expired, Carlos was faced with paying exorbitant out-of-state tuition and fees and had to drop out of school once again. For the next two years he worked in restaurants, warehouses, cleaning companies around Savannah, doing whatever job he could find to save enough money to return to college.
Like many immigrants, Carlos paid attention to the political debate over immigration reform and the special promise that legislation like the DREAM Act offered to young students like him. But he grew increasingly frustrated as each successive proposal stalled in Congress.
“After six years of living in the U.S. I decided to return to Mexico in 2009,” Carlos said. “I moved back home to Chihuahua City and enrolled in the Autonomous University of Chihuahua.”
It wasn’t easy. Carlos worked in a call center during the afternoons while attending classes each morning. With his mother’s help, he was able to save enough money to pay for his schooling in Chihuahua then transfer to New Mexico State University in Las Cruces for the final three semesters.
“I graduated in December of 2012 with bachelor’s degrees from both Universities,” he said. “Then I was hired as a design engineer by Zodiac Aerospace, a world leader in aerospace equipment and technology systems. They have a large facility in Chihuahua.”
Carlos’ intellect and hard work has now earned him a valuable scholarship from the Mexican National Council for Science and Technology or CONACYT. In May they awarded Carlos a two year stipend worth approximately $80,000 to attend one of Europe’s premier aerospace universities, Delft University of Technology (also known as Delft TU). The award will cover all tuition and fees, plus Carlos’ living expenses while he earns his degree. His classes start this month.
“My specialization at TU Delft will be Flight Performance and Propulsion,” Carlos said. “My goal is to become an expert in aircraft design, propulsion systems, and aircraft-engine integration.”
Carlos has stayed in touch with many of the friends he made while living in Georgia.
“I especially enjoy sharing my accomplishments with Olga Contreras from the HEP Program in ABAC, Araceli Harper from Savannah Latina, and Jerry Gonzalez from GALEO since they provided me help, advice, and resources when I needed them most,” he said.
Carlos notes the continuing struggle of undocumented students to reach their own dreams in the US and the following advice is based largely on his own experience.
“I think that it will take a long time for the US to provide complete legal status and tuition benefits for undocumented students,” he said. “The current situation benefits both political parties, since they both get votes based on their support for or opposition to those students. In the meantime, young undocumented students just allow their years to go by, forced to accept low paying jobs, and thinking that college is just not for them. The situation they live in is frustrating, and I know how it feels.
However, the fundamental problem lies not in the US Government and their politics, but in the students themselves. I think some undocumented students have created a culture in which they see themselves as people who deserve support and help. And some of them blame the government for their adverse condition. It is passive thinking. They just have to forget about that!
I think they should draft a solid plan to finance their education based on what they want to become (doctor, lawyer, engineer, teacher, etc.), either in cheap colleges in the US, or in Canada, Mexico, or anywhere else. Also, they should use the resources they have available: they are Mexicans by nationality, which is what matters for this purpose. They should detach from the American Dream and attach to Their Dreams. Their goals are more important that the passing of an immigration law.
It does not matter if they think like Americans or feel they are Americans. What matters only is the accomplishment of their goals. There are lots of resources in Mexico, and if used wisely, can provide about the same living conditions as in the US (house, new car, graduate school access, scholarships, visa for the US, etc.).
In other words, they must shift the focus; it is not about what the US Government can give them, but about what THEY can actively do to create added value in themselves. And for this, they should be creative.
I worked in the fields in Statesboro, Georgia picking tobacco leaves. I also wanted to have legal documentation through a comprehensive immigration reform, but I shifted the focus to myself, my interests, and what I could do to attain my goals.”