We have a dream...

By Ana Sánchez

There is a saying that goes, “If you consider education to be expensive, try ignorance.” Lack of education is one of the leading causes of poverty. But Nuestra Voz (Our Voice), a youth-led organization founded by seven students in February 2008, seeks to make a difference by promoting education among Latino youth. The mission is to raise awareness about the importance of higher education and inform the community of the possibility of accessing higher education regardless of immigration status.

We started out by volunteering for the Democracy Project, funded by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. This nonpartisan action was carried out to register people to vote, and we succeeded in increasing the voting power of many communities. Youth involved in this project, moved by their ability to create change, decided to start the organization. Nuestra Voz also works to educate people on House Bill 60, the Illinois in-state tuition law enacted in 2003, which allows undocumented youth to enroll in college and pay in-state tuition.

Unfortunately, this law exists in only eleven U.S. states. All others require students to pay the much higher out-of-state tuition rates, even if they reside in the state. We are also advocating for the passage of the Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, a federal legislation allowing undocumented students to attend college and achieve their dreams of participating actively in the only country many have called home. Currently Nuestra Voz is preparing to celebrate our second anniversary with a conference that includes an award ceremony honoring the establishment of the Stephanie Herrera Scholarship, named after one of the founders who died in 2009. We plan to distribute informative materials on the DREAM Act at the event.

Overall, Nuestra Voz, a small community organization with big dreams, has come very far in a short two years.

What could you be doing to support the right for all Latino young people to access an education? Do you take advantage of your own opportunities to achieve a better education and become all God wants you to be?

For more infomation visit: DREAM Act Portal