Preparing Undocumented Students for
Professional Careers
ABOUT THIS SESSION:
Due to a lack of federal immigration reform, hundreds of thousands of undocumented students both in K-12 systems and in higher education face restricted college and career opportunities without access to work authorization. Staff members at high schools and colleges often struggle to support their undocumented students’ unique needs for income-generating opportunities that do not require work authorization. Once in college, undocumented students often feel alienated by universities’ focus on traditional employment.
Through this interactive presentation, audience members will identify effective strategies to support undocumented students, create action plans for developing programs and services, and gain a “toolkit” of actionable strategies to enhance access to higher education and professional opportunities.
PRESENTED BY:
SARAH KIM (Read Sarah’s Bio)
Director of Community Engagement and Partnerships at First Gen Empower
AVDEEP DHILLON (Read Avdeep’s Bio)
Co-Founder & Executive Director at First Gen Empower
ABOUT SARAH:
Sarah Kim (she/her) is the Director of Community Engagement and Partnerships at First Gen Empower. She is also the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Edu Light, Inc., a career consulting firm for first-generation and immigrant students. With 6+ years of experience in Student Affairs and Career Services, she leads efforts to prepare first-generation and undocumented students for success beyond high school through tailored workshops and training educators. Sarah holds a Master’s in Higher Education, with a concentration in student affairs, from Boston College and a B.A. in Sociology from UCLA.
ABOUT AVDEEP:
Avdeep is the co-founder and Executive Director of FGE. Avdeep is an immigrant and a first-generation college student who is passionate about ensuring equal opportunity for everyone. Avdeep has a background in social impact. In her previous roles, she has worked on investing in social enterprises at Kiva, building a social enterprise at PSI in Nairobi, Kenya, consulting for non-profits and philanthropists at the Bridgespan group, and managing the philanthropic initiative of rent relief at Esusu. Avdeep graduated from UC Berkeley in May 2019 with a degree in Political Economy and a certificate in Entrepreneurship and Technology.