Northeastern Illinois University welcomed 10 new TheDream.US scholars to the University this fall, joining another 22 scholars who are continuing their studies.
TheDream.US is the nation’s largest college access and success program for “Dreamers,” undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children and are ineligible for federal financial aid. The term is based on the DREAM Act, which was proposed but never passed in Congress.
Northeastern began partnering with TheDream.US in 2015 to provide qualified Illinois students the opportunity to achieve their higher education goals.
“Northeastern Illinois University values the contributions that undocumented students have made and continue to make to the institution,” President Gloria J. Gibson said. “The perseverance, grit and self-reliance of our TheDream.US scholars are felt at our University and in the classrooms, and it challenges us to continue to find ways to eliminate barriers in their educational paths such as with our partnership with TheDream.US.”
Ten TheDream.US scholars have graduated from Northeastern with a bachelor’s degree, and seven of them have graduated with honors.
In Spring 2019, Noemi Luna earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Northeastern with the help of TheDream.US scholarship. A year earlier, Luna was featured as TheDream.US Scholar of the Day.
“Prior to receiving TheDream.US, I decided to attend Northeastern, unsure of how I would pay for it,” Luna said. “One day, I was scrolling through my emails, reading about events that I would be unable to attend because of homework and work, but one caught my eye. It said, ‘Informational Session for Scholarship for DREAMers.’ Upon reading it I noticed that I would qualify for the scholarship. Right away, I called my sister, and we attended the meeting. Without TheDream.US, I am sure that I would still be working long hours with my father, earning minimum wage.”
TheDream.US has provided more than 5,000 college scholarships to students at more than 70 partner colleges in 16 states and Washington, D.C.
