"All I wanted was peace and freedom": Salvadoran caravan migrant headed to UC Berkeley on full scholarship

Record ID: 1561326

  • Title: "All I wanted was peace and freedom": Salvadoran caravan migrant headed to UC Berkeley on full scholarship
  • Date: 8th July 2020
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JULY 7, 2020) (REUTERS) GERSON NAVIDAD PLAYING SOCCER OUTSIDE OF HIS HOME VARIOUS OF GERSON NAVIDAD AND FRIEND DANIEL PLAYING SOCCER OUTSIDE OF HIS HOME (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SALVADORAN MIGRANT GERSON NAVIDAD, ON STAYING FOCUSED, SAYING: "I never let bad memories, bad moments interfere in my process towards the future and I rely more than anything on that. Working in the present, the past is gone, but the future will depend on what I today." GERSON NAVIDAD EXITING HIS HOME WEARING A UC BERKELEY SHIRT VARIOUS OF GERSON NAVIDAD WALKING ON DRIVEWAY LEAVING HIS HOME GERSON NAVIDAD WALKING IN NEIGHBORHOOD GERSON NAVIDAD RECLINING ON FENCE VIEW OF SHIRT SHOWING CALIFORNIA BERKELEY LOGO VARIOUS OF GERSON NAVIDAD RECLINING ON FENCE
  • Embargoed: 22nd July 2020 19:28
  • Keywords: El Salvador Los Angeles college Migrant Sandpiper Foundation UC Berkeley border education immigrant immigration unaccompanied minor
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Education,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA005CLY8CP3
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: When Gerson Navidad fled his home country of El Salvador in 2017, all he wanted was peace and freedom.
    Three years later, the 19-year-old is preparing to attend UC Berkeley on a full scholarship. But getting there was no easy task..
    "The process was kind of difficult to transition from being a Salvadoran and then coming here as undocumented, unaccompanied minor. It was one of the things that I struggle the most," said Gerson. "These things have been like a key for my learning process and my academic growth."
    Gerson's mother left El Salvador when he was only six-years-old, telling him and his sister that going to the United States was the only way she could provide for them. Growing up in El Salvador in the middle of gang violence, Gerson knew he wanted a better life too.
    Gerson traveled alone to the United States and describes it as a gruesome, dangerous experience as he crossed through Mexico. When he arrived at the US border, he was detained 12 hours. "It felt like years," he said.
    "Many young people there want something, I do not know, overcoming and it is something very difficult to find in countries in the northern triangle of Central America," said Gerson.
    Once in Los Angeles and reunited with his mother, Gerson said he was in awe when she told him that she wanted him to go to school. A few weeks later he was attending Hawthorne High School, where he also joined the school's soccer team.
    Navigating the education system and adapting to a new culture was a challenge. While going to school, he also worked at McDonalds part-time while making time for school homework, college applications and sport. He knew it was the only way to make it to college.
    Gerson only applied to UC Berkeley because it was part of the UC system. He was shocked when he found out he'd been accepted.
    "I never considered Berkeley and it was at that moment that, out of curiosity, I said, I don't know, let's see what's new and I logged into my portal and at that moment I realized that there was something new. A message saying check this authorization. That's when I realized that the acceptance letter was there and I said, oh my God!," said Gerson will excitement. "I stayed, just like, I don't know. I had the computer here and I just put it next to me. I forgot I had the computer and I was looking at the floor, at the ceiling and I said, is this real or am I dreaming? It would hit me like if I was having another crazy dream and no, it was reality. I even went for a walk to try to assimilate things because of the emotion. I felt as if I was somewhere else," said Gerson. He holds a 4.2 grade point average (GPA) and was accepted to universities in the Cal State system.
    After the excitement subsided, Gerson's next thought was, who's going to pay for this? One week later he heard from Sandpipers Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing financial assistance to college-bound students.The organization offered Gerson a full ride to Berkeley.
    Gerson says he has struggled his entire life, but he's determined to leave his past behind.
    "I never let bad memories, bad moments interfere in my process towards the future and I rely on that more than anything. Working in the present, the past is gone, but the future will depend on what I today," said Gerson.
    (Production: Sandra Stojanovic, Norma Galeana)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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