Immigration Activist – New Jersey
“I was fortunate to have many teachers who helped me achieve my potential. Now, it is my greatest hope that other people will see me that way.”
Marisol Conde-Hernandez was born in Puebla, Mexico and was brought to the U.S. by her teenage parents at 18 months of age. They settled down in Princeton, NJ, where they lived together for nine years until her parents separated. Moving around the Mercer and Middlesex Counties, Marisol focused her energies on her schoolwork as a way of coping with the separation.
During Marisol’s senior year at South Brunswick High School, her father was incarcerated and she was able to drop half of her classes in order to work full-time to help financially support her two youngest siblings. Nonetheless, Marisol graduated her Class of 2005 with 3.5 GPA, a member of the National Honor Society, President of the National French Honor Society, President of the Latino Culture Club and a HiTOPS Teen PEP Leader, delivering health promotion workshops to her peers addressing issues such as unplanned pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted infections, homophobia reduction and date rape.
Thanks to the encouragement of her AP U.S. History teacher, Marisol enrolled at Middlesex County College after giving up the application process for 4-year universities and scholarships due to the depression she felt from her father’s incarceration and her undocumented status. At Middlesex County College, now a sophomore and ready to graduate this January, Marisol is President of the Hispanic-American Club and works full-time at a local restaurant to pay full tuition by herself. On top of that, she serves as Secretary of the Board and as Program Director of Latino Reform Youth Council, a non-profit organization that promotes a positive Latino identity as a means of encouraging 18-25 year olds in the Greater Princeton area to attend and finish higher education while becoming socially involved in their communities.
Most prominently, Marisol is recognized by her advocacy work for the DREAM Act and the In-State Tuition Bill with several organizations such as the New Jersey Immigration Policy Network, the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the New York State Youth Leadership Council. She has been featured in local and state newspapers for providing her testimonial story as an achieving undocumented student at rallies, forums, community meetings, and press conferences.
What prompted you to become a leader?
My family. I wouldn’t have developed as a leader without it. My parents came to the U.S. when I was one—illegally—and that is why I am an immigration activist. They left their families, left their home, to try to find a better life for me. Later, when I wasn’t able to receive college admission or apply for scholarships due to my status, I was completely distraught and overwhelmed. If it were in my power to do something, though, I wasn’t going to be passive.
Also, I am the oldest and my little sister means the world to me. I had to set an example because there was always someone watching me and staying with me as my family grew.
What steps did you take to achieve your goals?
I put so much effort and love into achieving my goals. It is genuinely in my heart to help my people, to pull other Latinos up from where they are. You have to have the passion to do it and understand that you have long hours and it’s a lot of work. When you’re fully committed to a movement, though, seeing the outcome is really rewarding. You have to train your mind to accept your responsibilities and fulfill them.
What obstacles have you faced in achieving your goals and how have you confronted them?
High school was difficult because I was an undocumented student. I wanted to further my education, but there were so many programs that I could not attend. Counselors didn’t know where to start; I had to take it upon myself to do searches because no one else knew what to do.
I was fortunate to have many teachers who helped me achieve my potential. Now, it is my greatest hope that other people will see me that way.
Which of your achievements make you proudest?
Only 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school each year, so even that is an accomplishment. I am the proudest of going to college, since I am the first person in my family to do so. I pay the tuition myself by working full time.
How has your experience been shaped by being a woman? By being Latin American?
Being a Latina hindered my experience growing up. I was having many problems at home, moving around from place to place. Because I was a woman, my grandmother had very different cultural expectations. I was told that I had to be submissive to men. I was supposed to learn to cook and clean for a man. I was expected to have children at a young age.
I believed that I shouldn’t have to baby-sit, shouldn’t have to bow to men. I’m all about proving everyone wrong. If you think that I’m going to have kids at 17, I’m not. If you think I’m going to fail out of a class, I’m not. I know how hard it is to climb the ranks. It’s not that people think you’re incapable; they just don’t expect success from you.
What lessons have you learned from your experiences?
I have learned how to manage my time, to balance everything I love: college, parents, advocacy work. I learned to appreciate my family so much more. Being an undocumented student, I learned to accept the fact that I may not be here the rest of my life. If someone knocks on my door and I am deported, that’s fine.
This is my home, but I could be sent back to Mexico—a place I’ve never been. My father taught me the saying, “a parrot is green everywhere.” No matter where I go, I will always succeed. The opportunities I had here in the United States will make sure that doors are still open for me.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully, I’ll have one or two kids. I’ll be a professor, perhaps in sociology. I think that would be a great career and I have been encouraged to teach since I was young.
In this capacity, I hope to have enough power to influence politicians. I don’t want to run, but I want to be able to teach politicians about immigration and health care. I don’t know how people can be elected when they don’t know about the issues that face their constituents. At the other end of the spectrum, I want to start teaching my Hispanic community about government. I aspire to be a middle person, to mediate the relationship between these two groups.
What advice do you have for young girls who have leadership aspirations?
Start being a leader today. Clean up your neighborhood park, learn about something you really care about. If you want to be a leader, I’m sure that you already are. It might be president of a club or captain of a team, but carry your responsibilities with you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and reach out to people who have been there and done that.
People claim to be a leader and know they have to set an example, but they forget what that means. Once a leader, you are a leader always. Stick with it and never, never forget where you’re coming from.
