"Si se puede," which basically translates into "yes, it can be done" is a phrase that can fill people with hope and faith that things will get better...eventually.
For Silvia, a college graduate who was recently been accepted into Harvard, si se puede means much more than that. For her, it means turning her dreams into a reality. It means making a difference in a community that has no tolerance for her or any other student in the same situation. Silvia works directly with people who want to make Arizona a better and safer place for everyone. She's an advocate, she's a leader, she's a great artist, and being accepted into one of the most respected universities in the world just proves what we all know...she's one of the best students in the country.
Right now, as we speak, Silvia's dreams are being put on hold. She, as well as hundreds of thousands of other students in the United States, is struggling to turn her dream of going to graduate school into a reality, and all just because of her legal status. Thousands of students graduate each year from U.S. high schools and can't obtain a higher education because of their legal status; the few that do reach graduation face many obstacles to finish their careers and go to graduate school. These are students who graduate with honors, help their communities, and are trying to better their surroundings...who are we do deny them the tools to do so? Instead, we keep putting more obstacles in their paths so that they can't keep moving forward. Students in this situation can't often times work, can't get financial aid, can't get a drivers license, and have to pay up to three times more than a citizen does to go to school. It just doesn't seem fair to me.

I had the opportunity to hear Silvia make a speech this weekend, and she said something that I don't think I'll ever forget, it ran along the lines of:

"It is crucial that I go to Harvard this fall...because I cannot wait. I don't know if I will be here tomorrow, I live under constant fear of being deported, I could be picked up by the police or immigration and see my dreams shatter"

Students who are in the same situation live under constant fear and, yet they find the strength to keep going and make everyone proud along the way. The road is hard, but not impossible and Silvia is an excellent example of this. Silvia has just launched a campaign to raise funds so that she can go to Harvard. Please, if you can help do so, any contribution helps tremendously! Below is the link to her blog so that you can know more about her!!! If her story doesn't touch your heart...I don't know what will.