RICARDO PAZ

"(My father) swam across the Rio Grande, travelled through Texas for awhile, and avoided checkpoints. I'm pretty sure after he got out of Texas, he was making his way back to Grand Rapids, Michigan...

Previously, he would always get stopped at the border. The border patrol was not as strict as it is now, but it was still... there were a lot of people at where he was crossing, because he was crossing through major cities."

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"(My mother) had a lot of stress, because technically she was being a single parent. I know she was also working at the elementary school that we were at... She had to be working also to support us, and I feel like that's why she got the job at the elementary school, so she can have a job and see how we were doing. Because I feel like she was worried that he wouldn't come back."

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"When my dad came back, my mom wanted us to keep them low-key. They wanted us, whenever we could, to avoid talking about them, because technically they aren't supposed to be here."

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"The main reason I picked MSU was mainly because of financial reasons...

The financial package I got from MSU was Spartan Advantage (SPAD), and that basically covers my tuition. And then I also received the Pell Grant, which helped pay for my room and board."

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"Currently, I am the secretary of CRU, which is the largest Latino-based student organization on campus."