Cendy Vides
College Track
Los Angeles, CA USA
"Pick those little parts of your journey that are going to impact you and make you the person you want to be. It’s where you feel you’re most impactful that’s going to make you feel like a good human being."
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Cendy's work combines: Education, Non-Profit Organizations, and Teaching / Mentoring
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
There are a lot of immigrants that are denied opportunities for advancement and pathways to citizenship because they are undocumented. I have relatives that haven't pursued higher education because of this. I realized that my education was something that could never be taken away from me. This is what motivated me to keep going.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Hispanic-American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican-American/Chicano Studies
University of California-Santa Barbara
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
When she was four years old, her mother left her with her grandmother in El Salvador in search of a better life in the United States.
2.
At the age of eight, her mom sent for her, trusting a coyotaje (or illegal human smuggler) to take her on a month-long journey across multiple borders and into the United States.
3.
From a young age, her mother started collecting her schoolwork and awards to present to lawyers in order to argue her daughter’s right to residency.
4.
It wasn’t until she was a sophomore in high school that she became a resident.
5.
Throughout her schooling, she saw her mother struggling to support the two of them financially; seeing that struggle motivated her to pursue a four-year post-secondary education.
6.
She was able to attend college at the University of California, Santa Barbara, majoring in global studies and Chicano Studies.
7.
Working at College Track, she helps students get the support they need—both in school and at home—through policies like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
8.
Says a huge source of her motivation today is creating a better world of opportunity for her young niece.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You're not going to get ahead if you are undocumented.
How I responded:
There are a lot of immigrants that are denied opportunities for advancement and pathways to citizenship because they are undocumented. I have relatives that haven't pursued higher education because of this. I realized that my education was something that could never be taken away from me. This is what motivated me to keep going.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I'm from El Salvador, I came to the US when I was 8 years old. My mom left me at age 4 with my grandma, searching for the American dream. When I was 8 my mom had finally saved enough money to pay a coyote to bring me to the US.
I'm the first in my family to graduate high school and go to college.
I took on the responsibility of taking care of my mother, sister, and niece financially.