To toil, suffer, and sacrifice in order to create a better life is the common denominator for all refugees and most immigrants. As a two-year old, Jose and his family of three, first arrived in the United States after a devastating hurricane pummeled their home country of Honduras. Whatever was left of their agrarian past life in San Esteban was utterly destroyed by the catastrophic flooding. Jose’s parents saw the hurricane as their opportunity to create a better life for their children in the United States after receiving a refugee visa for the hurricane. They came to America and never looked back.

Obtaining a college degree had always been a distant dream for Jose’s father. He was never afforded the opportunity to go to college as an adolescent as he had to provide for his struggling family. As a result, the passion and necessity for learning and advancing oneself through education was something instilled within Jose from a very young age. When the time came to apply to colleges during his senior year of high school, however, Jose quickly realized how difficult the process would be for a DACA student.  The fact that many scholarship programs preclude international students coupled with coming from a low income household, Jose’s prospects for university were very limited. Nevertheless, this did not deter him.

Jose enrolled full-time at the local community college and worked close to 35 hours per week to cover the full cost of tuition with no financial aid. Between his extensive work and class schedules, Jose had very little time to devote to his studies. It was a bitter trade-off. Realizing that affording his education meant sacrificing his academic standing, Jose knew there must be a better way for students to optimize their time. After his second year at community college, Jose’s hard work had finally paid off after receiving a generous scholarship to the University of Rochester. He graduated in 2020 with a degree in Business Analytics.