High School Students Attend Long Island Dreamers’ Conference

PORT JEFFERSON, NY - From the Port Jefferson School District: Nine students from Earl L. Vandermuelen High School in the Port Jefferson School District attended the Long Island Dreamers’ Conference, an annual event for high school and college immigrant students recently held at Nassau Community College.

Along with English as a New Language teacher Jennifer Walling, the students listened to keynote speaker Tereza Lee, known as the “Original DREAMer.” She was an undocumented immigrant who inspired the The DREAM Act, which works to give undocumented students a chance to become permanent residents. The event also offered the students opportunities to interact with current college students and other DREAMers who achieved their higher education goals and are now leaders in their work and communities.

The goal of the event is to motivate and equip the teenagers with the skills needed to reach and succeed in college as well as help educators better understand how to guide their students in the next steps after completing high school.

Photo courtesy of the Port Jefferson School District