Adiela has experienced and witnessed multiple instances of discrimination in her Dominican and Latinx communities by police and others, which ignited her desire to support a sense of security and empathy for immigrant communities. She strives to study law after obtaining her bachelor’s degree from Emory, and she has plans to join the Vera Institute of Justice to ensure that other immigrant families know their rights and have access to attorneys.
The first in her family to graduate high school, she has provided significant leadership in her family, accompanying her mom to job interviews, paying bills, in charge of filling out healthcare forms, and taking significant care of her little sister. Adiela also knew college was her next step. At the same time, she wanted to make sure other students in her school knew it was an option as well. She organized a college fair, creating workshops to provide college and financial aid application support. Thanks to Adiela’s workshops, nearly 70% of her graduating class filled out the federal financial aid form for college by the end of November 2017, a staggering achievement.
