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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Washington chapter.

Part 1: my college experience as an immigrant

For one of my last articles during my last autumn quarter at UW, I wanted to take an opportunity to reflect on my time in college. Part I is about my experience as an immigrant and academic. 

When I was 16 years old, I blurted out to my family that I wanted to go to the University of Washington and live in Seattle. We were eating dinner. I remember how my parents looked at each other, probably deciding how to best approach my wild statement. See, we lived in Arizona, about two hours from the border, and most importantly, we were immigrants. It was 2020, and like the global pandemic, the end of our green card approval process was nowhere in sight. 

A year and a half later, I was accepted into UW not as an international student, but as an out of state student. The difference was small but enough to get my foot in the door. 

Two years later, my last fall quarter at my dream university is coming to an end. 

I stand at the beginning of the end of this era in life. Being a student has been so defining of who I am for so long, it is hard not to feel a little lost when I think about what comes next.

How much is life like school? How much is school like life? I can’t help but wonder how the last 15 years of school are truly going to help me in life. 

But as someone who immigrated to a new country from a young age, school felt like the only way to succeed, to better the life of my family and my future family. I believed my merit was enough to get me ahead, and it was. Although, merit only gets you so far. 

What I’ve learned first and foremost after moving to a new place, this time without my family, is that connections matter. Sometimes knowing the person at the hiring desk is better than having an airtight resume. I still can’t help but feel like school did not prepare me for that, and while I was focused on passing with the highest grades I could, others were getting to know their professors and classmates. 

At a university so vast and predominantly white as UW, it was hard to find people I could connect with. I was always aware when I was talking with someone who might not be able to fully understand me, and I them. I used to think that did not matter, that people could see past my color, identity, and native tongue to see the person I had built, but that didn’t always happen. It almost never happened. 

When it did, I got a wonderful opportunity to intern abroad in Spain with the full sponsorship of my department. I felt seen for my merits, and my cultural roots were an advantage. I interacted with people from all over the world, who were students like me living in a place as a minority. I felt seen by them. I felt like they could understand me. After spending all of spring quarter 2023 in a small city in Northern Spain, I felt accomplished. I had gained valuable experience, and made connections in different parts of the world. 

Now, I’m looking left and right for opportunities to get out of my comfort zone and meet new people. I may not have been dealt a winning hand, so I’m changing the rules. 

My advice to any young immigrant, first generation, or undocumented student is to know your value and invest time where it is appreciated. The energy you put into something is the same type of energy you will get out of it.

Dany Villarreal is a senior at the University of Washington studying Journalism and Public Interest Communication with a minor in Law, Societies and Justice. She was born and raised in Mexico and currently live in Arizona. Dany has two dogs and a turtle waiting back at home, and many plant babies. She loves autumn, reading, writing, being outside, movies, game nights, live music, and travelling, photography, sports, and more.