Cañada College Broadcast Journalism Major, Sarahi Espinoza,
was named one of 10 DACA recipients of the Champions of Change award by the
Obama administration.
Espinosa was brought to the United States from Mexico by her
parents when she was just four-years-old. She moved back and forth between Los
Angeles and the Bay Area, living with relatives and friends. It was a difficult
transition and her father eventually moved back to Mexico. When she turned 16,
Espinosa’s mother left for Mexico, but Espinosa remained behind to live with
her brother’s family and finish high school at North Hollywood High School.
After graduating from high school in 2008, Espinosa moved back to the Bay Area
to live with a sister in East Palo Alto. She worked as a babysitter and registered
for classes at Foothill College as an AB540 student. That spring she learned
that her dad was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Her mother was caring for him,
but they did not have enough money to pay their bills. Espinosa dropped out of
school and began babysitting full time to send money to her parents.
In 2011, her father passed away. At that point, she was
determined to go back to school to earn her college degree. She learned about
Redwood City's Cañada College from Educators for Faire Consideration (E4FC) and
was told to contact Adriana Fernandez, a student at Cañada, who put her in
touch with Margie Carrington and Trish Guerrara.
She applied for DACA or
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status in 2012. As one of 600,000 recipients,
Espinoza became eligible to get a driver's license and a job. She now works for
the Girl Scouts of Northern California and teaches in environmental science and
technology programs.
After enrolling at Cañada College, Sarahi taught herself how
to program so she could build a website (www.sarahi.tv) to educate other DACA
recipients about scholarship opportunities. (DACA recipients are given a 2-year
deportation deferment.) It was this website that got the attention of the White
House.
ABC7 News broadcast live from the campus with a story on
Sarahi.
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