Why I’m Taking a Year Off College to Work on the Election

The first time I knew that I was talking to an undocumented student was my junior year of high school. As an English Language Commissioner for my high school, tasked with integrating English as a Second Language (ESL) students from other countries to the customs and vernacular of American high schools, I was volunteering at the district-wide ESL Speech Contest, judging students from all five schools on their well-prepared speeches.

This particular student stepped up to the podium, practically shaking with anxiety. She took a deep breath and started talking. In her speech, she immersed us in her perilous journey across the US/Mexico border at night, losing her father in the process, and ultimately ending up in the Silicon Valley of California living in a small one-bedroom apartment. Despite hardship and tragedy, to her it was a happy ending, since she was safely attending school here -- something that she could not do in her home country of Honduras, where gangs ruled and threatened the childhoods of so many innocent people.

After the contest ended, I went up to her and congratulated her on such an incredible and raw speech that, honestly, electrified the crowd. We talked for some time about the aftermath of such a traumatic experience as well as the fear she overcame to speak candidly about this part of her identity that not many people at her school or even her closest friends knew about. Leaving the contest that day, I was in awe of her bravery and my mind entered a state of deep thought about what it must be like to fight your way into this country.

Years later, I still think about that story. Her journey had sparked my mind to make the undeniable connections between our two experiences. My parents emigrated from India in the 1980s to the United States and received their green cards shortly after, citizenship 10 years later. Yet immigration has always been the hot topic at family gatherings. My cousins in and around 2010 emigrated as well, but ran into far more roadblocks and delays than my parents had 30 years ago. I can tell you most of the intricacies of the various visa types, only because we talk about them constantly. My cousins are in an indefinite state of limbo, without the freedom to seek employment at companies that can’t sponsor their visas.

Being able to connect our distinct experiences with immigration troubles deepened my understanding of that student’s struggle. Unlike my cousins, she was fleeing violence and could not risk being denied by traditional methods of seeking asylum in the United States. Yet like my cousins, she was deeply worried of the government and its largely unfair immigration practices.

Empathy, the ability to understand and share others’ feelings, while making the connections across distinct human lives, made all the difference in understanding her story better. It’s one of the many stories that have inspired me to create the change we need for all young people to live safe and fulfilling lives.

This generation of young people is the most empathetic generation to date. While we watch the adults throw mud at one another, we are more accepting and understanding of different identities than anyone else. We volunteer at higher rates than any generation before. We demand that corporations take responsibility for their actions and give back to their communities. We march for our lives. Because of our experience with hardship, like gun violence in our schools or immigration troubles, as well as our optimism, this generation brings to the table a refined understanding of what it means to be human, what it means to love each other, and what it means to fight for all.

I’m taking a year off college to work as DoSomething’s Civic Action Lead because I want to use our empathy to change the world. We can show politicians what empathy looks like when it votes. We can demonstrate that young people should be listened to because our ideas are important, valid and, oftentimes, groundbreaking. That’s why I work day in and day out to register as many young people as possible and ensure that they show up to the polls to vote out politicians that don’t understand empathy and don’t try to understand young people.

DoSomething.org is the largest not-for-profit exclusively for young people and social change. Our digital platform is activating 6 million young people (and counting!) to create offline impact in every US area code and in 131 countries.