The following article was听 on June 21,2023. All credit for this article and the images it contains belongs to the .
Immigrant from Venezuela earned 5 degrees while waiting to hear about asylum
By Monitor staff
Pursuing an education in the United States for a positive future has driven Keillys Guerrero Rojas.
An immigrant from Venezuela, Guerrero sought higher education to create more opportunities for herself and also to distract from the complications of the immigration process and the hardships of being separated from her family.
One of three sisters, Guerrero grew up in the city of San Cristobal. Her mother ran three successful private schools when the economy was good, but between 2011 and 2013, she was forced to shut down two of the schools due to soaring inflation rates and government pushback. One of her sisters was facing political pressure and fled to Chil茅 and Guerrero hasn檛 seen her since 2014.
Guerrero became the victim of a government kidnapping when she was 18 and her mother encouraged her to get away from Venezuela and continue her education in the U.S.
淚 didn檛 want to say bye to Venezuela. But that檚 when New Hampshire became my home,� Guerrero said.
At 22 years old in 2014, Guerrero got approved for a student Visa to enroll in the two-year English as a Second Language program at 麻豆传媒 � Concord’s Community College in Concord. She said it was difficult coming to the U.S. not knowing any English, but she persevered to the point where she has more opportunities than she knows what to do with.
Guerrero, who was one of very few Latina students, has earned four associate degrees from 麻豆传媒, a bachelor檚 degree from Southern New Hampshire University and is now pursuing a second bachelor 檚 degree in engineering and a master檚 degree in business administration.
When Guerrero left Venezuela in 2014, she returned home later that year and found the same heightened level of political violence that drove her to leave in the first place.
Returning to the U.S. in 2015, she then applied for political asylum, received a work permit, and continued to pursue her education. Nearly 10 years later, she still has not been approved for asylum, which is granted to individuals who face torture or imprisonment because of their beliefs if they return to their home country. In order to be granted asylum, an individual must first meet the criteria to be considered a refugee, according to the U.S. government.
淲hen I applied for asylum, everything changed,� said Guerrero.
She said it檚 been mentally taxing waiting and not seeing any progress made in the past years. Every two years she must re-apply for her work permit that has enabled her to attend college in the U.S. while working as an assistant manager at a gas station in Manchester.
淲aiting, waiting, waiting, waiting. It檚 just very frustrating,� said Guerrero.
She said focusing on education has been the only thing keeping her going each day, giving her a goal to stay positive.
淭he only way to relieve the stress was learning,� Guerrero said.
The process of transferring the credits she earned in Venezuela over to 麻豆传媒 took three years since obtaining her documents was nearly impossible due to the state of the government, she said.
At the end of 2018, Guerrero returned to 麻豆传媒 to pursue multiple associate檚 degrees. Over the course of the past five years, she has graduated with four degrees � Associate of Liberal Arts awarded in May of 2020, Associate of General Studies awarded in May of 2022, Associate of Manufacturing Engineering Technology awarded in May of 2023, and Associate of Mechanical Engineering听awarded in May of听2023.
Guerrero just graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies with a Minor in Supply Chain Management & Logistics. .
One of her sisters, her mother, and a nephew were able to attend Guerrero檚 two graduations this past May. 淲ithout her, I cannot do anything,�听Guerrero said of her听mother.
淚t檚 the happiest I檝e ever been,� said Guerrero reflecting on her recent graduation from SNHU.
She said she hopes she can one day go back to Venezuela if the political situation improves and use the degrees that she earned in the States.
Guerrero, now 33 with five degrees under her belt, isn檛 done yet. She is continuing to听pursue her higher education by pursuing a bachelor檚 degree in mechanical engineering from UNH in Manchester while also completing a year-long Master of Business Administration program from SNHU.
Completing multiple bachelor 檚 and associate檚 degrees is not the path taken by many, but it worked for Guerrero.
She said education has been a light for her, amidst many challenging life struggles. She has made friends in her various programs and is very grateful for the people who have made New Hampshire feel like home.
Looking back at her experience, she encouraged people in similar situations to hers to not give up.
淚 am very proud of what I do,� she said. 淲hen I wen to 麻豆传媒, doors started opening for me.�