DREAM on: Creating a network of allies for undocumented students

Davier Rodriguez minutes after finding out DREAMzone had made it to the Final Four. (Photo By Jessica Boehm)

Arizona State University has yet another reason to be proud this weekend after graduate student and Taylor Place Assistant Community Coordinator Davier Rodriguez was honored as the winner of the Clinton Global Initiative University Challenge.

About 900 college and university students submitted commitments for change, highlighting the key areas of social innovation, enterprise and sustainability. Sixteen were selected by the Clinton Global Initiative to compete in a March Madness-style bracket.

Over the past few weeks, ASU students have rallied to tip the vote in Rodriguez’s favor. He progressed through each round, and ultimately received the most votes and was honored by President Bill Clinton and well-known TV personality Stephen Colbert at the conclusion of the Clinton Global Initiative University.

Rodriguez’s commitment was titled DREAMzone and aimed to create a national network of allies for undocumented students in order to enhance the higher education experiences of undocumented students. The DREAMzone network would feature a 4-hour ally certification course that highlights some of the challenges undocumented students face.

ASU currently offers a DREAMzone Ally Certification program for students, facilitated by Rodriguez and Jesus Cisneros.

Rodriguez’s goal seems simple but demands the support of individuals throughout the country. The national recognition he received this weekend will catapult his ideas onto an even more expansive stage.

The Clinton Global Initiative recognition shows the country that ASU is working to change the way the world looks at education and immigration. Rodriguez and so many others continue to push toward new goals in the higher education world.

“Words cannot articulate how incredibly humbling it is to meet President Clinton and Stephen Colbert,” Rodriguez said in a Facebook post after his win. “Only more humbling is listening to the stories of our DREAMers as they fight to succeed and contribute to our world. Tonight’s achievements are dedicated to all our undocumented students across America.”

Changing the world ONE step at a time

Kamra Sadia Hakim with some of the children she met while in Africa with ONE. Photo courtesy of Kamra Sadia Hakim.

In the summer of 2012, Kamra Sadia Hakim was one of eight people across the United States to be selected to take a trip to Africa with ONE, a movement of people fighting against extreme poverty worldwide. While in Africa, Hakim spent time in HIV clinics and child orphanages.

Hakim, a sophomore studying global studies at Arizona State University, came back to ASU realizing that she couldn’t end her advocacy work for extreme poverty and preventable disease. She started an ASU chapter of ONE to encourage other students to spread the message about the foreign struggles she had witnessed. Her main motivation: The dedication of the struggling people she met in Africa.

“What really motivated me to want to come back to ASU and make a difference is these people, regardless of their circumstances, are doing what they can in their communities to make a difference and they’re doing all they can to give their children the future that they deserve,” Hakim said.

On campus, ONE at Arizona State University encourages students to advocate at a political level for foreign resources that counter extreme poverty and preventable disease. Hakim said interacting with politicians and other government entities is one of the most rewarding parts of the process.

Before her trip to Africa, Hakim was also invited to Washington to learn about advocacy and the policies that affect global issues. On the last day, they went to the Capitol and talked to lawmakers about the issues. In February, Hakim and Brianna Valenzuela, secretary of ONE at Arizona State University, will attend the Washington summit.

Valenzuela said she enjoys ONE because it allows her to explore problems in other countries and help people outside of the United States.

“I do want to affect those that I come across, and affect them in a positive way,” Valenzuela said.