At the tender age of eighteen, Erika Smith (whose name has been changed to protect her) has learned to overcome some of life’s most challenging experiences. Her story is one of a student who has continued to overcome adversity in hopes of fulfilling a dream that seems unattainable.
Smith fled her hometown of Puente de la Rey, Guerrero, Mexico (a city so small that it cannot even be found on a map) when she was only ten years old. “We left because if we stayed, we would have died. The corruption in our town was every where and my own mother had to use a gun to defend us,” recalls Smith.
Knowing no English, Smith’s parents matriculated her at Stoner Avenue Elementary in the city of Culver City, CA.
"It was very difficult for me to assimilate with the rest of the students. Even though they were predominantly Latinos, like me, they did not accept me," says Smith.
Her inability to fit with the rest of the students followed her through middle school and high school. This problem grew into serious episodes of depression that ultimately caused Smith permanent abdominal damage. In addition to dealing with these social problems, at home the family grew apart.
Smith’s father was sentenced to three months in jail for driving under the influence. Since then, family life has been far from perfect. Smith’s father is now an alcoholic and his drinking has taken a devastating toll on the rest of the family. He continues to be the sole provider for the family of six and continues to hold authority because of the income. In addition, Smith has had to deal with the progressing illness of her younger brother who was diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (O.D.D.).
“All the problems that I would encounter at home; whether it was my father’s drinking, my parents arguing, or my little brother throwing tantrums, I would escape them all when I was at school” says Smith. "I would swim in the words of my books."
It came as no surprise to learn that Smith excelled in her academics. In high school she challenged herself by taking four A.P. college level courses. She also learned French and Italian, making her fluent in four languages! In the 10th grade she was chosen to attend a UCLA forum on medicine where she discovered her love for cardiology.
Smith graduated from Culver City High School with honors. Her father did not attend her graduation. On the contrary, he gave her an ultimatum: work or leave the house. Unable to enroll at a university or community college (her lack of legal residency makes her ineligible to get financial aid), Smith is currently taking classes at Venice Skills Center vocational school. She is training to be a Dental Assistant.
Although Dental Assistance is far from her dream profession, Smith believes that this is a necessary step that will help her get her family away from an alcoholic father.
Smith says "Not being a citizen of this country stopped me from being a greater individual that could make a huge positive impact on society. I don’t think that I am a criminal for seeking opportunities."
The Urban Institute estimates that 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high schools each year. Although these students are guaranteed an education up to the 12th grade, many face legal and financial barriers to higher education.

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There are many students like Erika for sure and it's a shame. But there are also many other studetns who go through similar situations and they were born in this country and they still can't afford college and have little support from their home. Maybe we should focus on how to make college cost more affordable to everyone?

Yes I agree with you, but I think that undocumented students shouldn't close the doors for a college or university level education. Because like you said they make a great impact to society and future generations; therefore, the government should help these students. Maybe along with this project we can also research and raise awarness to these students about all the possibilities that are out there for them to continiue studying. If anything scholarships, sponsoships, or any other kind of financial aid will be an answer to this issue.

Daniela I hope to learn more about students like Erika. Their struggles are just beyond impressive and their abilities to push forward are very inspiring. It is disappointing to learn that they can not make the positive impact in our society and be the change the world needs. Hopefully stories like these will bring a change and awareness to the greater community.

Hi Carla I am Daniela, and I will be working with you with this story along with Bianca. She had told me about it but not completely, and I am astonished to hear that this girl succeeded and graduated with honors from high school. Her story is very interesting because no matter how many boundaries and difficulties she had, she still managed to over come them with success. I just want to do my research so that students like her have opportunities to finish school and go to college. Also, my research will include help for those who are not American citizens and who want a better future and strive for a college educatiom.

There are so many students like Erika out there who need more of her courage to push forward! thanks for covering her story. It inspires others to push through obstacles.

The new school year has merely just begun and on a Tuesday afternoon in the city of Arcadia, C.A the local library is packed.

It is approximately a little after 4:00 p.m., an hour after school has been dismissed and to my initial surprise…the library is full! As I walked around I was stunned to find not one seat available. At first I was not concerned by who was occupying the seats, I just wanted to find a seat and read my Che Guevara book. Ten minutes later and I had yet to find a seat! As I roamed aimlessly, my eyes began to observe who was occupying the seats. I noticed that I was one of the few people who was not Asian, As a matter of fact, I was one of the very few Latinos in the entire Library.

As I asked myself why I was one of the only Latinas I realized that the majority of the people who look like me live in lower income communities. In those communities there are no funds available to build facilities like this library so that Latinos could sit and learn. Instead, city officials have allowed or even funded the construction of strip clubs, food yards, community pools, and community parks, even an Army recruitment office. The harsh reality boggled my mind.

Although I was not exposed to the typical “ghetto,” community, I did not live in a city that had the money to build a library like this one. Instead I, like many Latinos, had abuela’s house to go to. Her place was up the block which happened to have a T.V. that unquestionably served as a distraction tool that could easily prevent me from continuing to learn.
My thoughts were interrupted when in the distance I noticed a woman and three young girls who had a skin tone similar to mine
The three little girls, Amanda (5th grade), Meg (4th grade), and Rebecca (2nd grade) were in the library because their father pushes them to excel in their education. The sisters are Arcadia residents whose mother is Mexican-American and whose father is Italian.

“I like coming to the library because it helps me concentrate,” said the timid second grader. I asked them what they would be doing if they went home after school instead of coming to the library. The three of them said in unison “Watching T.V!” Further proving that they, like every child, would much rather turn on the T.V. instead of doing their homework.

Amanda, Meg and Rebecca are all honor roll students at Longley Way Elementary in the city of Arcadia and aspire to be college graduates one day.

One of the librarians who happened to be a Chicano, Neto DeLaTorre, shared that one of the reasons why the library was full of Asian students was because “education is highly valued in their culture.”

In addition, the fact that the library was adjacent to both Arcadia High School and various elementary schools, made it convenient for students to go straight to the library after school. DeLaTorre also made a very interesting comment when asked to compare the types of students of the Arcadia Library and those of the El Monte Library, a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood.

“The students who go to the El Monte Library tend to use the facility as a social place, where as here the students come to learn and interact solely with their books.” When asked why, he said “Simply because these students have more places to go socialize, the ones of El Monte don’t.”

However, the problem as to why less Hispanic students are in the library is obviously much deeply rooted. The private funds to donate and maintain a library, that can inevitably help develop a child’s education, are simply missing. Public libraries are funded with taxpayers money (amongst other things). In a lower income neighborhood there are not sufficient tax dollars to fund a library. Libraries such as the Arcadia one receive much more funding due to the taxpayer revenue that comes in to the city.

Lower income cities depend on government funds to build facilities such as libraries. Unfortunately, the citizens of the community are often deprived from the tools that can help them get out of poverty and succeed in society.

The day at the library served much more than its original purpose. It was more of a realization of some of the things that contribute greatly to the problem that hinder Latinos from succeeding. Culture, family ties, and the settlement for something better than what we are use to…but yet not the best that we can aspire to have is what stops so many of us from achieving what we can have. This is the root of the problem. It is the responsibility of those of us who wish to pursue a higher level of education to ensure that the next generation of Latinos have teachers like them and the tools they need to pave their road to greatness. We must remember how it felt not have a state of the art library where we could have gone to sit and learn… we must give back to our communities.

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If there are no libraries in your neighborhood, maybe you could take turns to study at friends house and make it a day of quiet. Like a few of my friends can come to my house one day and we'll use it as a library and the next day will go to someone else's house and that way we each have one day that we put our house up as common library. Do you think this would work?

Libraries are a key element of our democracy. Use them or loose them! I hope more Hispanic students take advantage of all they have to offer.

Cecilia: You are absolutely right! The libraries that are inside of schools are either absent or very out of date. Funding, whether it be through private fund raisers or government, must be allocated to facilities such as schools and libraries. If school libraries are updated and teachers encourage their students to use the facility students will get in the habit of using it as a place they must go to in order "sit and learn."

Alexia: Libraries are a vital tool that can ultimately help students of all races excel in their academics. It serves as a place of academic inspiration. In order to see these facilities being built in our communities we must demand that our taxes go to building these structures or to the better development of schools in our communities. Second, community organizers can private contributors to be a part of building a new library in a lower income community. Third, once the city or private donors begin to build a library the community MUST ensure that the location is directly across or adjacent from near by schools.

John: The lack of computers for people in our communities is truly unfortunate. Latinos are the leading population growth and MANY of us do not have access to the most important technological tool! My suggestion to this problem is that Latinos realize how vital this piece of technology is and make it a priority to have it in their lives. There are several places that sell refurbished computers and are fairly inexpensive.
Ana: As a former student myself, I can honestly tell you that children/teenagers would much rather be doing something else that does not require them to be quiet. However, going to the library to study or do homework is something that will only work if it becomes a routine and if it made mandatory by you, the parent. I know that if my parents made it their priority to make sure I was in the library doing my work, I would have gone. If you are free after they get out of school... you should attempt going with them. That way, you can also enjoy what the library has to offer. Take your children to a library that will inspire them!

Libraries are very improtant but so are schools and many neighborhoods don't even have adequate schools for our children much less libraries. What about the libraries in the schools? Often they are not well stocked either and many times there are not even librarians present because of the budget cuts.

Is there anything we can do to encourage more libraries being built in our neighborhoods? I loved having one when I grew up but then I moved and in my new town we don't have one. I agree with you in that they are an invaluable tool for Latinos to "sit and learn"

There's a library in my town and I see students using the computer tehre a lot because they don't have comptuers at home or in their schools. this is also a big problem for our community.

I'm a parent and my children always think the library is a boring place to be. I'm not sure what to do to get them interested. ANy ideas? Thanks a lot.

Although the presence of Latino students is being felt more in schools throughout the country, there are many who have difficulties navigating such a complex school system.
Notes from the Streets will take a closer look at the struggles and compelling stories that Latino students have experienced in order to continue their educational growth. Along the way, questions will be asked to local city officials in hopes of learning how they plan on making education in their communities a main focus and available for all.
Hope you enjoy my coverage!

-Carla

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