One Hundred Tacks: The Adaptive Process of a Non-Traditional Student Towards Higher Education

This presentation, a multi-media testimonio by an undocumented young woman navigating the educational pipeline in a non-traditional manner, presents an alternative narrative to the dominant DREAMer/DACA story. Tracing her... [ view full abstract ]

This presentation, a multi-media testimonio by an undocumented young woman navigating the educational pipeline in a non-traditional manner, presents an alternative narrative to the dominant DREAMer/DACA story. Tracing her step-by-step journey from high school graduation in Mexico, to migration to LA, to adult school, trade school, and community college, Marithza shares her story as an aspiring university student who is ineligible for DACA and the California DREAM Act. She problematizes the silences surrounding “ineligibility” while also critiquing exclusionary policies. This first-person narrative illuminates an educational trajectory for undocumented students that is often rendered invisible, while also centering resistance and creativity in the navigational process.

Panel 83