Cendy Vides

Operations Manager / Family Engagement Coordinator

College Track

Los Angeles, CA USA

“Pick those little parts of your journey that are going to impact you and make you the person you want to be. It’s where you feel you’re most impactful that’s going to make you feel like a good human being.”

Videos

By Roadtrip Nation

Cendy Vides

Milestones

My road in life took a while to figure out.

When she was four years old, her mother left her with her grandmother in El Salvador in search of a better life in the United States.

At the age of eight, her mom sent for her, trusting a coyotaje (or illegal human smuggler) to take her on a month-long journey across multiple borders and into the United States.

From a young age, her mother started collecting her schoolwork and awards to present to lawyers in order to argue her daughter’s right to residency.

It wasn’t until she was a sophomore in high school that she became a resident.

Throughout her schooling, she saw her mother struggling to support the two of them financially; seeing that struggle motivated her to pursue a four-year post-secondary education.

She was able to attend college at the University of California, Santa Barbara, majoring in global studies and Chicano Studies.

Working at College Track, she helps students get the support they need—both in school and at home—through policies like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Says a huge source of her motivation today is creating a better world of opportunity for her young niece.

Keep following my journey

Education

High School

Bachelor
Hispanic-American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican-American/Chicano Studies
University of California-Santa Barbara

Career

Operations Manager / Family Engagement Coordinator

I help students and young adults apply for the programs that will give them the rights that I lacked for so many years.

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

Education

Non-Profit Organizations

Teaching / Mentoring

Day to Day

As the Operations Manager and Family Engagement Coordinator, my main role is to ensure that our students have the possibility of going to school. I support the families and do a lot of follows ups to make sure that students are applying to DACA.

Advice for Getting Started

Here's the first step for high school students

Pursue a higher education. Education can open doors and get you where you want to be.

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Society in General:

"You're not going to get ahead if you are undocumented. "

Challenges I Overcame

First-Generation Immigrant

First-Generation College Student

Financial

Interviewed By

Beyond the Dream

Undocumented young Americans explore their futures

Cendy Vides

Operations Manager / Family Engagement Coordinator

Videos

Cendy Vides

Milestones

Education

Career

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Education

Non-Profit Organizations

Teaching / Mentoring

Day to Day

Advice for Getting Started

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Society in General:

Challenges I Overcame

Interviewed By

Beyond the Dream

Related Leaders