supporting students whose immigration status may# pose challenges to their academic aspirations.

As a former undocumented student herself,# Vallejos says she saw firsthand the barriers## that prevent immigrant students# from realizing their dreams.

Tonight, she shares her Brief But Spectacular# take on dreamers pursu KAREN VALLEJOS CORRALES, Executive# Director, The DREAM Project: I was 5## Even as a small child, I knew I was undocumented.# I didn't really understa that.

I knew that, because we were# undocumented, we couldn't go back to## Bolivia.

That for me was the worst part of# it.

I missed my family.

It wasn school that I started to realize there was# a lot of other ramifications for my status.

Being undocumented in high school, you# really start to feel it when everyone## starts preparing for college.

At that# time, it was 2010.

And in Virg there was no in-state tuition# offered for undocumented students,## which meant most tuitions from public# schools were twice or three times as much.

The DREAM Act was a legislative bill that offered# a pathway to citizenship for individuals who were## brought here as children.

It was something that# was introduced much earlier in 2000.

By the time## it was 2010 and I was in high school, it still had# not passed.

By then, I had become a very strong## advocate, and I was actually on the Senate# floor when the DREAM Act was being voted on.

WOMAN: Motion to concur in the House# amendment to the Senate Amendment No.## 3 to H.R.5281, DREAM Act, signed by 16 senators.

KAREN VALLEJOS CORRALES: Other dreamers# had come from Texas, from California,## from states all across the country, I think.# So it was just this ma college-age students.

Even though we were# strangers, everyone was holding hands,## and people were counting and kind of whispering# and saying, that's 15 votes, WO MAN: Mr. McCain, no.

Mr.# Inhofe, no.

Mr. Cochran, no.

KAREN VALLEJOS CORRALES: As we kept going,## it became very apparen MAN: The motion is not agreed to.

KAREN VALLEJOS CORRALES: We were# in shock.

There's not any legislative relief, and we It was in that moment that we started really# talking about what we could we, with the support of our families,# ended up starting The DREAM Project,## which is the nonprofit I am# now an executive director of.

We thought that we could start a program that# would help offer scholarships.

that was the most immediate need.# Our parents would do bake sales,## dinners for fund-raisers.

That first# year, The DREAM Project was ab raise enough money and give out four# scholarships to high school seniors.

Since my own graduation, the organization# had grown a lot.

It was giving out 100## scholarships.

It had a formal mentoring program.# We even have students now pursuing their Ph.D.s,## their master's programs, med school, law school,## and you just see the value that giving them a# chance when Access to education is important because# education is really a great equalizer.## Young Americans are headed to college this# fall, and thousands will be undocumented.## The students we work with all have amazing# academic backgrounds, are incredibly involved## in their school communities.

They're# an asset to the American community.

My name is Karen Vallejos Corrales,## and this is my Brief But Spectacular take GEOFF BENNETT: And you can watch more Brief But# Spectacular videos online at PBS.org/NewsHour.