I moved to the United States from Bra zil when I was seven years old. It was all one big shock. I was in a completely different country, with a different culture, different people, and the hardest part, trying to understand a completely different language.

I attended the West Tisbury School and often came home crying to my mom. I’d lie on her lap and when she would ask me how my day at school was I would burst into tears. I’d tell her it was just too hard and that I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t learn English. I would get frustrated that I couldn’t understand what my teachers or my classmates were saying.

But there were also good days too, and I was reminded that I was in a country that could give me more opportunities than I ever imagined. My ESL teacher at the time was Marcy Klapper, and her room was my safe zone. She believed in me when I did not believe in myself and she would not let me give up. I vowed to learn English so that I could prove to those around me, and most importantly to myself, that I could do it. And the more I learned the more I wanted to keep going. I even started dreaming differently — dreaming of my new home rather than dreaming of going back to Brazil.

Marcelle Alves will soon be a junior at the University of Arizona. — Courtesy Marcelle Alves

Sometimes I forget about those early days of moving to the United States, but lately I have found myself going back to those memories a lot. Seeing on the news and on social media platforms the horrendous stories of children being detained at the border has made me heartbroken because these kids are searching for the same dream I was in the search of: the American dream.

My dad moved to the U.S. four years before I did, and I did not see him at all during those years. I know what it is like to wish for nothing more than to see your parent, to hug them so tightly to the point where you never want to let go. A parent’s hug is the most comforting thing for a kid, it’s what makes them feel safe. To see all these kids at the border, wanting nothing more than that hug and a better life, and yet being punished for it at such a young age breaks my heart.

These kids are just like I was when I first moved to the United States, but they don’t have as much of a voice as I did. This is what motivates me today, to help make a voice for immigrants.

As time went by, and I moved from the West Tisbury School to the Oak Bluffs School and then to the regional high school, I realized I wanted to become an immigration lawyer to help make change. During my sophomore year of high school I started interning with Rebecca McCarthy, an immigration lawyer on the Vineyard. Even though I always knew there were many immigrant families on Martha’s Vineyard like me, I never realized how intense and pure each of their stories was. All I could think about was the injustice these families faced.

As my senior year approached I dreamed of going to college but I also knew that financially it wouldn’t be possible. As an immigrant I was very limited regarding financial aid, and couldn’t receive FAFSA or any government federal aid. Student loans were not possible either as I am not a citizen. My parents have always worked hard to provide for me, but I knew paying for college was not something they could do.

This never stopped me from trying hard in school. I always gave it my all because I had been taught to hope that somehow that effort would pay off. And it did. In my senior year I was awarded a Martha’s Vineyard Vision Fellowship. I cried when I heard the news because it was my only hope for going to college. The fellowship is an organization that invests in individuals who want to better the Island community and pursue Island-based careers. It is a highly competitive program, so when I heard I was even nominated for it I was in complete shock.

This year I was again awarded a Vision Fellowship to continue paying for college. I was just as grateful as the first time.

This August I will begin my junior year at the University of Arizona. I get asked a lot why I chose to travel so far for school. The answer is because I like change. I like the culture shock. It motivates me and pushes me out of my comfort zone. Since moving to Arizona, I get to see both the conservative and liberal sides, especially on campus. Once the news went out about possibly terminating DACA this past winter, people began protesting everywhere. Our school president sent out emails with daily updates about what the university was doing to protect DACA students.

The University of Arizona is 60 per cent international students. Being able to see all the different nationalities come together has helped me learn more about not just the Brazilian immigrant population but immigrants from all over the world. It has also made me even more passionate about justice, giving me the confidence to stick up not just for myself as an immigrant but all people.

All of the experiences and opportunities that I was given are what these kids being detained are searching for. I am no different than these children and they deserve the same treatment I received, to be believed in and fought for and made to feel loved.

Marcelle Alves lives in Oak Bluffs and will be a junior at the University of Arizona, studying prelaw with a minor in Spanish and African Studies.