When someone asks me where I was born I am never hesitant to say Cuidad de Mexico. Then they ask what I miss from Mexico or what it was like to live there but I can never give them an answer because I have no recollection of living in that beautiful country. I arrived into the United States when I was 2 ½ years old with my parents. They settled in North Carolina and it has been my home since. Today I am nineteen years old and am a few months away from a bachelor’s degree. All my life my parents have instilled in me the value of education. They always told me that they wanted my siblings and I to have a better life than they did. I have made it a mission for not only myself but for them to do just that. I graduated in 2015 from Johnston County Middle College High School with my high school diploma, a Spanish-Interpreting Certificate from Johnston Community College and various college credit hours. In 2016, I received my first degree which was an Associate in Science. In May of 2018 I will have a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration in Healthcare Management from the University of Mount Olive. I have always had a passion for the health care field but wanted to be on the administrative side of it. I can’t do bodily fluids, I learned that from a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) class I took in the Summer of 2016. I plan to pursue a Master in Public Health degree after undergraduate studies. I want to dedicate my career to the vulnerable and underserved on the health care spectrum. On top of school I have had a job since I received Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals (DACA) at the age of 15. I am also an older sister to two U.S. citizens. They look up to me and rely on me for certain things such as transportation to and from school, being their shoulder to cry on and their listening ear. I do not think that they would be able to imagine a life without me and I definitely cannot imagine my life without them. I know that I am valuable and an asset for this country. This is where I want to continue to build my life. I want to buy a home, buy a car, raise a family and more. This is my country as it is anyone else’s.
-Miriam Amado-Lopez
NC Dream Coalition 