Golden State Today

October 21, 2024

Yesenia Ochoa, a first-year student at UC Berkeley, shared her journey as a migrant student with UC Berkeley News. Ochoa grew up in Yuba City after her parents immigrated from Las Estacas in Michoacan, Mexico. Her family works in agriculture, which is a significant industry in the region.

Ochoa recalls helping her parents during summers by picking peaches. "As teenagers, my older sister and I spent our summers helping them pick peaches," she said. Despite the challenges, she embraced the opportunity to attend a four-year college as the first in her family. "It was something that was super-duper scary, but that I knew I had to do," Ochoa explained.

To alleviate financial burdens on her family, Ochoa applied for numerous scholarships and received a national scholarship from the Migrant Education Program. She attended a conference in Portland with other students from migrant families. "It felt really, really nice to see so many people — counselors and teachers — who are dedicating their lives to give students like me the opportunity to go to college," she noted.

At UC Berkeley, Ochoa plans to explore creative fields within the humanities, potentially screenwriting in the Department of Film and Media. She expressed her passion for writing: "Whatever I’m writing, as long as I’m passionate about it, I forget everything else because I’m so deeply invested in it."

Reflecting on her future at Berkeley and beyond, Ochoa remarked on embracing change: "I know eventually I will be sad about leaving Berkeley. But if I'm sad about leaving a place, then I know that I did what I had to do."