Valeria Herrera, a former student at Akins High School (graduate of 2016), is one of three pediatric nurses at Austin’s Dell Children’s Medical Center, whose ability to work in Texas is now at risk because of a lawsuit aimed at ending the DACA program.
To get where she is today was not an easy journey for her. She came to the United States from Mexico with her two parents when she was just two years old. When they arrived, they went straight to South Austin and have resided there since. Because of the huge risk being taken, Valeria’s mother got her in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Herrera first started attending Akins High School in 2012, the same year her mother helped her get DACA.
“I loved my time at Akins. It was so fun, everybody I knew was super friendly and helpful,” Herrera said. ‘I was a cheerleader, homecoming queen one year, and played volleyball for two years.”
Surrounding the stress of graduating high school, Herrera expressed how she felt about trying to make it to college.
“I really wanted to go to UT Austin, and I got into their nursing program, but because of my financial aid situation, I wasn’t able to go. I ended up going to Concordia University because I got a merit based scholarship to go there,” Herrera said. “It was a lot more affordable but, I remember I was super upset junior year when I had to turn it down because my dream school was UT.”
Earlier this year Herrera started getting featured in major publications such as the Austin American Statesman, the Texas Tribune, and Popsugar. This has been part of her drive to advocate for DACA because it is her temporary legal protection to be able to work in texas
“We use DACA to both study and work. A lot of people who are against illegal immigration say that we’ve come to not work, benefit off the government, and I always make it a point to educate them,” Herrera said. “We can’t benefit from anything that you need to be a U.S citizen or resident for. Hopefully enough awareness is raised to where people feel strongly enough to vote in things that could benefit DACA Recipients.”
Akins High School College and Career Center counselor Gracy Lopez shares advice for DACA recipients, and students who are undocumented.
“I want them to work just as hard on their education as anybody that’s a citizen or who they feel has more right than them, but they don’t,” Lopez said. ‘I want my students to know that we’re all the same and we’re all in this together. I don’t want them to think that one has more priority than the person next to them coming or coming in after them. I think we all kind of have to take a stand for ourselves and who we are.”
The DACA program is beneficial to thousands of people, but especially people with jobs like Herrera, granting her the opportunity to be a pediatric nurse here where she can express how enjoyable her job is.
“Adults can be very harsh, and can be very close-minded. In pediatrics, I get to take care of people who want to be taken care of, like my kids that I’m taking care of are always so happy,” Herrera said. ‘They don’t have that negativity that clouds everything, and they are sick because of things out of their control. So It’s just a joy to see them get better, and be able to play with kids while also being a nurse.”
