It used to take Eder Gaona almost six hours every day to travel back and forth from his home in Santa Ana to UCLA, because he could not afford to move out of his parents’ house.
He was an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who came to the U.S. at age 3. As a result, he could not receive any financial aid, meaning that he had to take countless busses and trains just to get to school.
Now Gaona, a fourth-year Chicana and Chicano studies and political science student, has a green card, but he continues to advocate for the rights of the almost 300 undocumented students at UCLA who are in the same situation he was three years ago.
Gaona is the co-chair of IDEAS at UCLA, a student organization that promotes the rights of undocumented students through advocacy, community awareness and personal support.
IDEAS was one of two organizations that won the inaugural University of California President’s Award for Outstanding Student Leadership on Wednesday. With the honor, IDEAS received an inscribed plaque along with $2,000 to be used to advance the goals of the organization.
It was mainly the level of achievement of these students who are operating within very difficult circumstances which made them stand out, said Janina Montero, associate vice chancellor for student affairs, who, along with Chancellor Gene Block, nominated IDEAS for the award.
“Their efforts, their fundraising and advocacy is important and meaningful for a university like ours where there is such diversity of backgrounds,” Montero said.
The President’s Award was installed to recognize students and campus-based organizations that enhance multi-campus collaboration and address issues system-wide.
“Their efforts are in the very best tradition of activism, public service and open dialogue that have always been the hallmarks of the university and its students,” said UC President Mark Yudof while presenting the award in front of the UC Board of Regents in San Francisco.
Many undocumented high school students think it is impossible for them to go to college because they cannot receive any financial aid, Gaona said.
“I like to give them (the students) the idea that if I can do it, they can do it,” he added.
Currently undocumented students receive no financial aid from the state nor can they apply for loans. Assembly Bill 540 allows certain students to pay in-state fees at state colleges, but they remain ineligible for any federal, state or institutional financial aid and almost all scholarships.
Since its creation, IDEAS has been fighting for the DREAM Act, which is a bipartisan legislation that would create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented students.
But the act has never passed, although it has been introduced three times already since 2001.
“We have been pushing since 2001, and we will continue to push,” Gaona said.
Besides promoting the DREAM Act, IDEAS gives many workshops, creates advocacy and helps students find new ways to finance their education.
“It helped me become an empowered student,” Gaona said. “IDEAS has definitely become my family. We have a special bond that helps us and that we get support from.”
The group also tries to support members to live a more normal student life. For example, the program Crash Catalog allows students who need to travel from far away to stay with organization members on and around campus for a night or a week.
According to Gaona, the $2,000 from the UC President’s Award will be used for the group’s annual Immigrant Youth Empowerment Conference on Sunday. The event brings together more than 1,000 high school students from all over the state to learn about their possibilities and the support available to them.
With a green card in his pocket, Gaona does not have to worry as much about his financial situation. To get to class, he just has to walk the 15 minutes from his apartment in Westwood.
“Now I can simply focus on being a student,” Gaona said.