My name is Ana Rodriguez and I support AB 131. I live in South Central LA, I am the first in my family to go to college. I attend Cal State Fullerton as a part-time student and Elac as a part time student as well . It is my first semester there and I will be majoring in Chicano Studies, Human services and Child and Adolescent studies. My first semester wouldn’t have been possible without the help of my friends, DREAMers, Allies, Professors and most importantly my family. There were times when I didn’t eat because I didn’t have money, or when I decided to “study” instead of going out but as soon as I started sharing my story with others everything changed.
It was through this and educating others that I learned the true meaning of progress. I no longer went hungry, my friends from the Alliance of Students for an Equal Education, the Ab540 club/support group on campus, told me about scholarships, and other ways I could fund for my education. I was not fortunate enough to be able to get a job or scholarships when I started college so my dad payed for most of my tuition and with the money I had saved I pitched in for the rest and my books.
With the passage of AB 131, I can finally see myself triple majoring. I will no longer have to choose between a book or food. I am very excited about the future generations who won’t have to go through what I did during my first semester. I will finally be able to be a full-time student at Cal-State Fullerton, and I can’t wait until I encourage others who were in the shadows like I was to achieve their dreams and tell their story. Thanks to AB 131, I won’t limit my dreams, I won’t let the opposition stand in the way, they are merely pebbles, and I have carried boulders a longer distance.