High School Students Document
Immigration Plight in New Book

Phoenix, Arizona
February 6, 2008

A compelling account of the struggle that students without legal status in the U.S. are facing has taken the form of a bilingual book. Under the title of Documented Dreams, the Arizona-based Hispanic Institute of Social Issues (HISI) has published a collection of letters written by students from Gateway Early College High School, and compiled by the school’s principal —and 2008 ‘Living the Dream’ award recipient— Yvonne Watterson

The letters were written in response to the anonymous and generous donations by people from the community, who made financial contributions to help students unable to qualify for in-state tuition continue taking college classes. The group of High School students then decided to write thank you letters to show their appreciation.

Watterson revealed that after reading the letters from students, “a book seemed the obvious way to capture forever their collective thanks. The students wanted to thank the strangers who were making their continued college education a reality. They could only convey their gratitude anonymously, from the shadows.â€