01:15
Cecilia Chavez Highlight
My experience speaks louder than anything else you’re going to hear, so I’m going to use my experience to change things. It’s only the people who have been through particular things that are going to be the ones to change it.
About Cecilia
- I was born in Mexico, but when I was a young child, my family moved to the U.S. as undocumented immigrants.
- As a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) student, I experienced a lot of negativity growing up, but this just made me work harder in school.
- My undocumented status and financial situation affected the schools I could apply to, so I only applied to two schools.
- After graduating from high school, I used scholarship money to attend San Jose State University as a justice studies major and Mexican-American studies minor.
- Once my scholarship money ran out, I couldn’t afford to keep attending SJSU, but I was able to take my last few classes at San Jose City Community College in order to get my bachelor’s degree.
- My original goal was to become a police officer and change the law enforcement stigma in my community, but I couldn’t get an internship at a department or a law firm due to my immigration status.
- I started volunteering at Silicon Valley De-Bug, a local community advocacy organization that helped me and my family beat my father’s deportation case.
- I am now a full-time organizer at Silicon Valley De-Bug, where I work to support families who are facing charges in the criminal, immigration, and justice systems.
