School revokes scholarship from undocumented student—but her dad didn't let her give up her dream

Some achievements are not just big for one person but for the entire family. They all have had to work collectively and support each other to make it happen. Something similar happened with an immigrant undergraduate when her college realized that she was undocumented. The woman named Camila was going to college on a scholarship, but the moment they learned that detail, her scholarship was taken away. She might have had to drop out of college, but then her family stepped in to ensure her graduation. She shared her story on X—where she goes by @camiconleche.

"When my school discovered I was undocumented, my scholarship and in-state tuition were taken away," Camila wrote in her post. "I told my papi that I was going to drop out and work instead. My papi told me he'd cut his arm off before I dropped out," she added. She graduated from college in 2018 and admitted that her dad was the one who made it possible. Camila was dressed in her graduation robes as she gave her dad a big hug on her graduation day, with tears running down her eyes.

She encouraged other undocumented people to never give up. "There's always a way, even if it takes longer than you thought and even if everything is telling you it won't happen. You can always do it. The system is a joke and you deserve success!" she said in another post in the thread.

Camila shared that the scholarship had been given to her based on her academic achievements in high school. She hadn't submitted any false documents, but once the school realized their mistake, they took the scholarship and in-state tuition away. Also, she had to return the scholarship money she had already been given. Camila further explained, "Luckily, that year, Florida passed HB 851, making me eligible for in-state tuition because I graduated from a Florida high school. So, no, I didn't lie, no, I didn't cheat the system, no, I didn't steal any money." She added, "Once the tuition was in-state, I started working almost full time, my dad continued to work and my mom started working and with tuition deferments and hard work, we made it work."

"I hope folks reading this tweet can focus on the need for immigration reform and the success despite the odds," she expressed. "If you are a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)/undocumented student wondering whether USF (University of South Florida) will be a place for you to thrive and succeed, shoot me a message and I can walk you through tips and share my story of how it became a platform for my steps into activism and the place I found myself," Camila added. People in the comments congratulated Camila for achieving success despite facing such a tragedy.

@DeadlineDominic wrote, "You and your father are American heroes, the best of who we can be even in bad times. Anything we can do to help, just reach out ...and congrats." @legitkylenav commented, "There is a place for people who work as hard as you in this country. Those who are willing to work and sacrifice it all are the true American way. I hope you can gain documentation. You make this country proud." @alyssadlewis remarked, "Congrats, Camila! So happy and proud of you! You deserve all the happiness and success in the world!"