My parents and I are from Mexico. They immigrated to the U.S. when I was only one and a half years old. My mom came to the U.S. with the mentality of wanting to come to school and get some sort of degree. Because of her aspiration and motivation for school and wanting a better life for us, she pushed me to go to school. Because of my status however, I did not care for education as much as she did. I did bad in high school and didn’t think I would make it far. I was afraid I was going to get deported and afraid of rejection from applying to schools. Because of my mom, I am where I am now. I am now about to graduate from CSUCI in May and apply to grad school for a PhD. Growing up, my fear of being undocumented got in the way of looking for opportunities, but now I have pride in it. My mom helped me get my green card in community college and I recently got my citizenship last year. These pictures show me graduating from community college and moving into CSUCI. 

– Karen Bahena

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child