Sarahi Espinoza Salamanca can date the first "Aha" moment for her startup to the moment she found out she didn’t qualify for FAFSA.
“When I was in high school I found out that because I was undocumented I was not going to be able to qualify for FAFSA like all my other friends,” shares Espinoza Salamanca. “I asked my counselor for guidance on other options to finance my college education and she said that people like me didn't go to college.”
According to the Migration Policy Institute – a non-partisan think tank – there are close to 3.6 million Dreamers, as of late 2017, who entered the United States before the age of 18. Of those 3.6 million, only about a third qualified for protection under the Obama Administration’s DACA policy.
To qualify for financial assistance for college under FAFSA a student must have a social security number – a form of identification that those who are undocumented do not possess.
“As the youngest of 11 and the first in my family to want to go to college I had prepared myself and had worked so hard to get the best grades possible to have this response,” explains Espinoza Salamanca. “It took me a while to realize that I was probably not the only one in this situation and that is when the initial idea of ‘one day somehow I'm going to have to fix this problem’ [came to be].”
In 2014, Espinoza Salamanca took her seed of an idea and submitted a proposal to Voto Latino’s Innovator Challenge for what would later become DREAMers Roadmap, a nonprofit app that helps undocumented students across the country find scholarships that can help supplement what financial aid won’t.
Winning the tech competition in 2015 earned Espinoza Salamanca and DREAMers Roadmap $100,000.
Since its founding, the app has helped over 20,000 students. Espinoza Salamanca hopes that through the app and the app’s voice in the advocacy space, undocumented students won’t abandon the possibility of higher education.
“We are a country of immigrants and many of our giant companies have been founded by immigrants so why not educate our immigrants and accept them,” explains Espinoza Salamanca. “We as a country are losing so much talent and potential by making it so hard to educate these students. You would think we want to be a society of the most educated people but we make it nearly impossible for these kids to have an opportunity to be an essential part of this country. This is our home too.”
Below Espinoza Salamanca shares how she’s navigated the current political climate while building her startup, what advice she has for Latinxs, and insights she’s gained along the way.
Vivian Nunez: What has been your biggest lesson learned as you built DREAMers Roadmap?
Sarahi Espinoza Salamanca: Not to think that everyone that you come across really wants to help you. Some might say that they do but they don’t. Also, you really have to be passionate about your work in order to not throw in the towel — if I was not passionate about this I would have given up 50 no’s ago
Nunez: How did you know when the product was ready to launch?
Espinoza Salamanca: Honestly I didn’t know a lot of things when I got into this. All I knew was that it needed to be built a long time ago — it’s something I wish had existed when I graduated from high school. [What I did have was] the passion and drive to learn.
Nunez: How do you classify the growth that DREAMers Roadmap has had in just over two years?
Espinoza Salamanca: We have been blessed to have been so successful in our young company. We have helped close to 20,000+ students find scholarships to go to college. We hear from our users via social media or email on how our app has changed their lives. As I travel the country sharing my story and my work I've been blessed to have met many of the users of our app and hearing their stories reminds me that we are doing a good job and fulfilling our mission of bringing hope and financial opportunities to immigrant communities.
Nunez: One of the app's biggest barriers of entry may be an undocumented student's fear of the current administration's positions — how do you ensure that the fear does not stop them from using the app and moving forward with their educational futures?
Espinoza Salamanca: This was on our mind since day one. One of the ways we protect our users is by only asking them for an email to create an account and not asking for any personal information. We also created a feature called “explore” which allows any user to see all of our scholarships without having to create an account. We also try to post motivational quotes or videos on our social media reminding our users of the importance of continuing their education despite the current administration's fears.
Nunez: What advice do you have for students who are up against so many factors when it comes to getting an education?
Espinoza Salamanca: Do not give up, ask for help and resist. Many times we think that by asking for help we are showing weakness and it's a stigma that many communities of color carry therefore we stay quiet and carry that weight, like the saying “calladita te ves mas bonita” or “you look prettier when you’re quiet.” We shouldn't. There are many people that love us and want to see us succeed. Many people that want what's best for us and want to help but don't know that we need the help until we ask
Nunez: What advice do you have for entrepreneurs who are looking to create a product that is community driven?
Espinoza Salamanca: If that is your mission is your passion, stand by it. Share it with as many people as possible and one of those might be the one who believes in you enough to fund your passion project. We need more people doing work that they love not just going to work to work. We should go to work to make the world a better place. There is no better feeling than that.
