An immigrant in limbo between two Americas
Maria Gomez, a UCLA graduate with a master's in architecture, grew up believing in the American Dream while living in its shadows as an illegal immigrant.
By Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times
Maria Gomez stood with the Class of 2011, waiting to climb the stage. The sun was bright on the UCLA campus, her fellow graduates buoyant.
To reach this elite company, she'd worked baby-sitting and housecleaning jobs, scraping up tuition from quarter to quarter. She'd lived on Cup Noodles and granola bars from the food bank when money ran out. She'd spent nights sleeping on the floor of the campus printing room.
At 26, she was getting her master's in architecture from one of the nation's top schools. But the triumph felt hollow, her sense of achievement tangled up with bitterness and fear.
From childhood on, she'd straddled paradoxical Americas.
To reach this elite company, she'd worked baby-sitting and housecleaning jobs, scraping up tuition from quarter to quarter. She'd lived on Cup Noodles and granola bars from the food bank when money ran out. She'd spent nights sleeping on the floor of the campus printing room.
At 26, she was getting her master's in architecture from one of the nation's top schools. But the triumph felt hollow, her sense of achievement tangled up with bitterness and fear.
From childhood on, she'd straddled paradoxical Americas.
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[posted by prof montejano]
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