Oscar Vera-Luna was born in America, but his family is from Pueblo, Mexico. None of his family members were educated past middle school for three generations. The only option for his relatives to make a living, Oscar said, "is you had to grow beans and corn from sunrise to sunset, just to pay for four eggs to feed six hungry stomachs."

 

Oscar's single mother raised him and her other children without support from the father, whom Oscar hasn't seen in over 12 years. "My grandparents, especially my grandpa, told me every single day when I was little:"Go to school. School in Mexico is a privilege."

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He was the first in his family to graduate from high school, and is the first to attend college. He wants to become an immigration lawyer to support other families from Mexico and other countries whose human rights are being violated.

 

Says Oscar: "I fertilize the seeds of the dreams of my grandparents and my mother. I am a growing sunflower that's growing each day in this new soil."