Support this fundraiser
Hello everyone,
My name is Angel Emmanuel Ortega Morales and I am an undocumented graduate student at Queens College.
As one of the few undocumented students who has been accepted to a graduate school institution of higher education, I have been faced with an additional layer of financial strain. Unfortunately, undocumented students are ineligible for most forms of federal financial assistance. As a result, I am unable to obtain access to loans or additional funding opportunities. Currently, my path to graduate school is entirely reliant on paying out of pocket. Unfortunately, due to the nature of my program I am unable to continue paying out of pocket because my program requires me to student teach. As a student-teacher I am expected to come in and teach as well as observe a veteran teacher. I am expected to be there Monday-Friday from 7am-2:30 pm. The tuition cost alone is $5,000+ as Queen’s college tuition continues to rise.
I have applied to vary scholarships and fellowships open to undocumented students. Although they are great resources, they are highly competitive and often times are not open to students seeking graduate level education. Currently, I am a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, meaning that I am legally authorized to work in the U.S. However, due to the unstable nature of DACA in our current political climate, my access to work authorization is not secured. This adds an additional strain to my predicament and if I am lucky to secure a part-time job this provides no security to finishing my degree as Daca hands on the balance of the lower courts and could potentially end if the higher courts decide to end the program.
For these reasons, I am reaching out to you all in hopes you can support my dream of becoming a Physical Education teacher and allowing me to finish my last semester in the program. My desire to become a Physical Education teacher comes from this desire to give other’s the opportunities of getting into the higher institutions by using the Physical Education classroom and teaching students life skills such as fortitude, self-efficacy, persistence, and love for learning. I hope to inspire the next generation of students to be able to express themselves, but to understand that in order to become great at anything whether a sport skill or anything else in life you need to put in the effort and the work and to work consistently because there are no short-cuts in life. However, I cannot continue to pursue my dream if I can’t maintain shelter and food on my own table. As a teacher of color I also want to be a role-model to students and to be honest about my own struggles and teach my students that all things are possible.
Ultimately, my goal is to create, implement, and institutionalize a culturally responsive classroom that will allow students to learn from each other and make mistakes, learn from their mistakes while still being able to lift each other up and to understand that although we all come from different backgrounds we all are able to rise above it all and be better people for it. I continue on this path to be an educator because, in truth, I want to give all my students the same opportunities to learn and give them all a chance to be great. This is why I want to continue my life as an educator.
Should you choose to invest in me, I will utilize the funds to cover the following expenses (based on my last semester in Queens College) :
Tuition: $5,000+
Housing and amenities: $2,000
Total: $7,000
Thank you for taking your time to learn about my graduate journey, I hope you are eager to support my dream and consider donating to my graduate school fund. Any contribution is greatly appreciated and welcomed!!!
Warmest Regards,
-Angel Emmanuel Ortega Morales
-Runner, Coach, Teacher, Mentor, Dreamer
My name is Angel Emmanuel Ortega Morales and I am an undocumented graduate student at Queens College.
As one of the few undocumented students who has been accepted to a graduate school institution of higher education, I have been faced with an additional layer of financial strain. Unfortunately, undocumented students are ineligible for most forms of federal financial assistance. As a result, I am unable to obtain access to loans or additional funding opportunities. Currently, my path to graduate school is entirely reliant on paying out of pocket. Unfortunately, due to the nature of my program I am unable to continue paying out of pocket because my program requires me to student teach. As a student-teacher I am expected to come in and teach as well as observe a veteran teacher. I am expected to be there Monday-Friday from 7am-2:30 pm. The tuition cost alone is $5,000+ as Queen’s college tuition continues to rise.
I have applied to vary scholarships and fellowships open to undocumented students. Although they are great resources, they are highly competitive and often times are not open to students seeking graduate level education. Currently, I am a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, meaning that I am legally authorized to work in the U.S. However, due to the unstable nature of DACA in our current political climate, my access to work authorization is not secured. This adds an additional strain to my predicament and if I am lucky to secure a part-time job this provides no security to finishing my degree as Daca hands on the balance of the lower courts and could potentially end if the higher courts decide to end the program.
For these reasons, I am reaching out to you all in hopes you can support my dream of becoming a Physical Education teacher and allowing me to finish my last semester in the program. My desire to become a Physical Education teacher comes from this desire to give other’s the opportunities of getting into the higher institutions by using the Physical Education classroom and teaching students life skills such as fortitude, self-efficacy, persistence, and love for learning. I hope to inspire the next generation of students to be able to express themselves, but to understand that in order to become great at anything whether a sport skill or anything else in life you need to put in the effort and the work and to work consistently because there are no short-cuts in life. However, I cannot continue to pursue my dream if I can’t maintain shelter and food on my own table. As a teacher of color I also want to be a role-model to students and to be honest about my own struggles and teach my students that all things are possible.
Ultimately, my goal is to create, implement, and institutionalize a culturally responsive classroom that will allow students to learn from each other and make mistakes, learn from their mistakes while still being able to lift each other up and to understand that although we all come from different backgrounds we all are able to rise above it all and be better people for it. I continue on this path to be an educator because, in truth, I want to give all my students the same opportunities to learn and give them all a chance to be great. This is why I want to continue my life as an educator.
Should you choose to invest in me, I will utilize the funds to cover the following expenses (based on my last semester in Queens College) :
Tuition: $5,000+
Housing and amenities: $2,000
Total: $7,000
Thank you for taking your time to learn about my graduate journey, I hope you are eager to support my dream and consider donating to my graduate school fund. Any contribution is greatly appreciated and welcomed!!!
Warmest Regards,
-Angel Emmanuel Ortega Morales
-Runner, Coach, Teacher, Mentor, Dreamer