Book Publication Party

Written by Oscar, UCLA Alumnus

The night before we were to leave to Berkeley for the RISE Immigration Conference, we headed over to Professor Kent Wong’s home to celebrate the book’s publishing and the hard work that students put into constructing the book and promoting the text among community members, educational and government institutions, and community organizations, among various entities and interests.

Professor Wong prepared the food from scratch (at least that’s what he told us), but in all seriousness, the food was amazing! Great food, great conversations, great laughter, and most importantly, great, accomplished people were at this event. It was truly inspiring to see various UCLA students and alumni united at this event with a common goal: To advocate for undocumented immigrant youth by being a positive, genuine example of what an American should represent.

Many of my peers have fought difficult obstacles to arrive at UCLA and to contribute to the fabric of this country. From escaping a worn-torn nation, a failing economy, an abusive parent, religious intolerance, to unforgivable poverty, many of these Americans have lived through various socio-economic, political experiences that present a unique perspective in any conversation and demonstrate the unique contribution undocumented youth bring to our nation.

The book party marks and celebrates a serious accomplishment for youth who have been organizing for political change and support and who only desire to contribute to this nation, a nation full of resources and opportunities to lead the world and create positive change – the book represents, captures our hopes, our dreams, our fears, our struggles, and our sweat and tears.