Many people migrate to the United States in hope of achieving the American dream — a better life and more opportunities. However, many lose sight of that dream once they step onto the new soil.

Sophomore Brenda Murillo hasn’t lost hope, despite the others before her who have.
Her two older brothers and sister all have high school diplomas and one even has a degree in architecture from a university in Mexico.

However, they do not carry out their professions or even have the desire to further their education, she said.
When she was 15, she wanted to attend school in America in order to get a better education. So her family moved here, where her older sister lives.

Murillo shares that “apart from the fact that everyone here speaks English, adjusting to the way teachers explain the material differently was a struggle.”

At the school she attended in Mexico, all of her classes were in the same room.

One teacher taught all of her subjects: math, science, Spanish, and history.

When she came here, the idea of having to walk from one side of the campus to the other just to get to another class was radical.

Although learning English has been difficult, she attends an English Rosetta Stone class every Monday and Wednesday in English Learner Department Chair Homar Juarez’s room after school to help with the process.

She even attended CAHSEE tutoring in the Homework Center to increase her chances of passing the test.

She wants to perfect her English so that she can graduate high school and go to a university and study architecture.

“I would like to design something and be recognized,” Murillo said.

“I would see my brother and how much he loved (architecture), and I wanted the same thing.”
But above everything else, Murillo said, “I wish to design a building like a hotel. I want to demonstrate that there aren’t only male architects.”