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White house honors undocumented Filipino teacher

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White house honors undocumented Filipino teacher
Originally from Bacolod City, Jaime Ballesteros moved to New Jersey when he was 11, and joined Teach for America after college

MANILA, Philippines – Jaime Ballesteros is a Filipino teacher with Teach for America, an organization that places college graduates to teach in public schools in low-income areas across the United States for at least 2 years.

According a story in the Filipino American newspaper the Asian Journal, he was honored by the White House as a “champion of change” for his experience in teaching.

Originally from Bacolod City, Ballesteros moved to New Jersey when he was 11.

His father moved to the US after getting a temporary visa for an accounting job. “But overnight, my family became undocumented,” Ballesteros told the Asian Journal. 

Fortunately, he was able to apply for the special Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The program was first offered to undocumented children under the administration of President Barack Obama.

Ballesteros is a graduate of Drew University, a college in New Jersey where he majored in history with a minor in chemistry. After graduating, he joined Teach for America when they began looking for teachers under DACA.

“This event honored 9 young leaders in the field of education that are also DACA recipients, who have been strong role models for students and families, as well as change agents within their communities,” the White House said in a statement.

“This is a such a big honor for me, especially just moving to LA and just starting my second year in teaching,” he told Asian Journal.

Read the full story from Asian Journal here. – Rappler.com 

 

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