A Master’s Degree and Immigration Path!
Donation protected
Please help support our dear friend and colleague, Claudia Ochoa, as she embarks upon this busy, next step in her life.
She is a superwoman who is somehow juggling being a full-time student, mother of three, and employee. Claudia will graduate with her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work this May, but that’s not enough for her. As a first generation college student, she’s going for her Master’s! She starts the Advanced Standing Program for School Social Work at Portland State University this summer.
As exciting as this is, she is being met with great challenges funding this endeavor. And besides school, Claudia is having to sort through her immigration status and pay for legal fees in her path towards U.S. citizenship.
A little background on Claud…she arrived in the states when she was 3 years old. Claudia has lived in Beaverton since then and has attended Beaverton School District schools, graduating from Sunset High School. She now gives back to her community by serving as a Bilingual Liaison, working with Spanish-speaking students and families.
Claudia is part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). This was created to protect those brought here as children from deportation. It allows them to work in the US and go to college at their own expense. Those under DACA do not qualify for FAFSA or government student loans.
So far, Claudia has been able to fund her associates and bachelors degrees through her own resources and with the help of scholarships. As a graduate student, however, scholarships are more difficult to acquire and the cost of her one year program is $26,5111.
In addition to this, Claudia’s husband, Rudy, just became a permanent resident, which opens the door for Claudia to do the same and obtain legal status. This process is expensive. The first step she must complete is “advanced parole,” where she will have to leave the country and come back on a legal entry. Then, her husband will have to sponsor her so that she can apply to become a permanent resident. There are travel costs, application fees, and immigration attorney expenses associated with this. The journey to acquiring legal status is likely to cost upwards of $10,000.
Claudia and her husband are parents to three children, ages 14, 5, and 10 months. Because of her determination, drive, and desire to better herself to be a positive role model for her kids, she is facing all these obstacles with grace. Her impacts do not stop within her family, as she has made such strong connections at the schools she works at as a Bilingual Liaison and sponsoring the LatinX Leadership Club. It is here that she learned so many students’ stories and wanted to make a difference. We want to help her achieve her dream of becoming a School Social Worker, and ease the burden of navigating the process towards citizenship. Please help our dear friend and colleague, if you can. We know she would do the same if it were any of us.
She is a superwoman who is somehow juggling being a full-time student, mother of three, and employee. Claudia will graduate with her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work this May, but that’s not enough for her. As a first generation college student, she’s going for her Master’s! She starts the Advanced Standing Program for School Social Work at Portland State University this summer.
As exciting as this is, she is being met with great challenges funding this endeavor. And besides school, Claudia is having to sort through her immigration status and pay for legal fees in her path towards U.S. citizenship.
A little background on Claud…she arrived in the states when she was 3 years old. Claudia has lived in Beaverton since then and has attended Beaverton School District schools, graduating from Sunset High School. She now gives back to her community by serving as a Bilingual Liaison, working with Spanish-speaking students and families.
Claudia is part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). This was created to protect those brought here as children from deportation. It allows them to work in the US and go to college at their own expense. Those under DACA do not qualify for FAFSA or government student loans.
So far, Claudia has been able to fund her associates and bachelors degrees through her own resources and with the help of scholarships. As a graduate student, however, scholarships are more difficult to acquire and the cost of her one year program is $26,5111.
In addition to this, Claudia’s husband, Rudy, just became a permanent resident, which opens the door for Claudia to do the same and obtain legal status. This process is expensive. The first step she must complete is “advanced parole,” where she will have to leave the country and come back on a legal entry. Then, her husband will have to sponsor her so that she can apply to become a permanent resident. There are travel costs, application fees, and immigration attorney expenses associated with this. The journey to acquiring legal status is likely to cost upwards of $10,000.
Claudia and her husband are parents to three children, ages 14, 5, and 10 months. Because of her determination, drive, and desire to better herself to be a positive role model for her kids, she is facing all these obstacles with grace. Her impacts do not stop within her family, as she has made such strong connections at the schools she works at as a Bilingual Liaison and sponsoring the LatinX Leadership Club. It is here that she learned so many students’ stories and wanted to make a difference. We want to help her achieve her dream of becoming a School Social Worker, and ease the burden of navigating the process towards citizenship. Please help our dear friend and colleague, if you can. We know she would do the same if it were any of us.
Organizer and beneficiary
Courtney Concetta
Organizer
Beaverton, OR
Claudia Ochoa Cosio
Beneficiary