New Dreamers begin DSU journey

For the third consecutive year, a new class of Dreamers – undocumented immigrant students – are fulfilling their aspirations by enrolling at DSU.

Thirty-eight new DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) students have started their academic journey through the Opportunity Scholarship. With the first and second years of Dreamers now in their junior and sophomore years, the total of undocumented immigrant students at DSU through this program are 113.

Most of 2018 Dreamer arrivals were born in Mexico, but there are others who began their lives in Costa Rica, Urugray, Kenya and Nigeria. Most moved to United States with their parent when they were young – some were in their infancy and know nothing of their native country.

Like the vast majority of Dreamers, Monica Santiago Javier is the first in her family to go to college. Born in Vera Cruz, Mexico, and raised in North Carolina, she arrives this year as a biology major with academic aspirations that extend beyond her undergraduate years.

“I want to be a surgeon,” said Ms. Javier, who came to the U.S. when she was 5 years old.

Like the previous Dreamer classes before them, all of the 2018 arrivals met the Opportunity Scholarship requirement of demonstrating academic excellence during their high school years. Mexico native Oscar Morado – who also grew up in North Carolina – said he did well in high school because he kept the right company.

“I had a friend who took honors courses, so I took my first one during my sophomore year and then continued to do so throughout,” Mr. Morado said. “My parents also pushed me.”

Despite the Dreamers’ high grades in public school, college for many in their home states is cost prohibitive because they are considered to be out-of-state students or laws in certain states prohibit the enrollment of undocumented students at state colleges and universities.

“I was accepted to attend the Missouri University of Science and Technology, but because I would have had to pay out-of-state tuition, I wouldn’t have been able to go without a scholarship,” said Filiberto Camarillo, a Mexico native who is majoring in Computer Science. “I was searching online financial help when I came across the Opportunity Scholarship.”

Bryan Reyes was also born in Mexico, but was raised in North Carolina. He said he wasn’t impressed with the guidance counselors at his high school.

“I was in the top 10 (academically), but they didn’t try to help me like they were helping others to find scholarships,” said Mr. Reyes. “They told me that I should focus on community colleges.”

Faith Olasupo, a native of Nigeria who at age 5 immigrated with her mother to Atlanta, Ga., found herself running in the “locked out concrete wall” in the state where she grew up.

“None of the schools would accept DACA students except Emory University,” Ms. Olasupo said. She said although she had good SAT scores, they were not high enough for the competitive admissions of Emory.

She said she applied to a number of schools in New York, but she was running into the same cost-prohibitive problem of being considered an out-of-state student. In the course of searching for options, she came across the Opportunity Scholarship, applied and selected Delaware State University.

She said she continued applying to schools in New York, but one day she got an email congratulating her for being accepted as an Opportunity Scholarship recipient.

“I had forgotten that I even applied, and I didn’t know anything about Delaware State University,” Ms. Olasupo said.

A Management Information Systems major, Ms. Olasupo has wasted no time assimilating into the DSU community. She has jumped into the freshman student elections as a candidate for corresponding secretary.

The Opportunity Scholarship Program began two years ago, with DSU and Eastern Connecticut State University being the only two schools that would accept the Dreamers. Since then, those two institutions have been joined by Christian Brothers University (Tenn.), Trinity Washington University (Washington, D.C.) and Western Oregon University in helping to make DACA students’ elusive dream come true.

The scholarships have been provided by TheDream.US, an organization created for this purpose and founded by Donald E. Graham, chairman of Graham Holding Company and the former CEO and chairman of the Washington Post.