Aliento Features: Abril Valenzuela
Introduce yourself!
My name is Abril Valenzuela Romero, I am 18 years old, and I am a Senior at Xavier College Preparatory. I was born in Scottsdale, Arizona, and raised here by my parents who are from Torreón, Coahuila. I am currently a fellow with Aliento, a student leader at the Brophy-Xavier Advocacy Club, and an advocate for immigration, education, and homelessness.
How did you hear about the Aliento Fellowship, and why did you choose Aliento?
In my Junior year of high school when I became involved with the Advocacy Club, I was working with two club leaders who were doing the fellowship (Darian Benitez and Araceli Lopez) with Aliento, and they recommended it to me. I was actively involved with immigration advocacy so I quickly got wrapped up in Aliento’s community, which has since become family. I was doing a presentation at Holy Cross Church in Mesa, Arizona with some of the Advocacy Club Leaders and met Jose Patiño for the first time and heard his story. After this event, we had lunch with Jose and Reyna (Founder + CEO of Aliento) at Raising Canes, and we bonded over our stories of navigating Arizona as mixed-status and undocumented families.
“I chose Aliento because I want to take back my own story and my own truth and change the future that my undocumented family and friends live.”
This interaction changed my life, because almost two years later, I chose Aliento and it became home. I have lived my life in the shadows, hiding from my own story, and my own truth of being a part of a mixed-status family. I chose Aliento because I want to take back my own story and my own truth and change the future that my undocumented family and friends live. They deserve a life out of the shadows and in a life of light and opportunity.
What are some of the things you’ve learned as a fellow? Why was it important?
During my fellowship, I have grown in mind, body, and soul. Through my weekly meetings with Jose, I have grown taller and stronger with confidence that has shaped my interactions in the tense political climate in this world. I look back and remember how limited my thinking was and how immature my opinions about politics and government were. Through the fellowship, I have expanded my knowledge, and I see a more rounded perspective of the world: the intricacies of politics. With this knowledge came power of the mind and blossoming of my soul.
“Stories and narratives have the potential to shape this world into one of not only equity, but also a world of empathy and compassion.”
I never knew how much my soul needed to share my story of being a descendant of immigrants in this country. I have learned the power in storytelling and the power in humanizing the issue of immigration that has become far too political and less about human dignity. Stories and narratives have the potential to shape this world into one of not only equity, but also a world of empathy and compassion.
What are some moments within the fellowship that you are most proud of?
I have vivid memories of the 2008 election. At 6 years old, I had the very difficult conversation with my parents about how our family was different. They explained to me what it meant to me an immigrant and what it meant to be undocumented. In this moment, my abuelos, my parents, and I were watching the election results come in while talking about what was at stake for the next 4 years. This was the turning point in my life.
Fast forward 12 years after that tense, anxious 2008 election night. I was able to take part in the 2020 election, that small conversation at the dinner table turned into 3 days of anxiously waiting this time around. I dedicated my life from September through November, doing my part in the election and no longer feel helpless. The Aliento Votes campaign has become one of the most impactful moments of this fellowship and of my life. I reminisce about the phone-banking events that Darian, Diego, Ivan, and I planned in October where we brought a community together and shaped the election results in Arizona. We spent long afternoons in the Brophy Student Activities Center making 300 phone calls a night, joining together with snacks and unity claps.
I get chills thinking about election night when my friends and I canvassed homes to get people to rush to vote before the polls closed. I think about the final unity claps at the end of election night and feel so much pride to have been able to take part in the next 4 years in America.
Besides Aliento, what else were you involved with at school? What did you do?
Being the overachieving first-generation student I am, I was excessively involved both on campus and off-campus in clubs and activities. Prior to the pandemic, I was an active member of my local parish St. Andrew’s in Glendale, AZ, where I was a part of our Hispanic Choir, and a youth volunteer. At school, I was involved in National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Advocacy Club, We Are Xavier Diversity Club, Spanish Club, and Senior Student Government. My involvement at school was not always easy because I shied away from being open and outspoken in my community. Being a student leader in our class government as well as Advocacy Club , I gained community organizing and life skills, overcoming my shyness. I promoted new discussions and conversations about change on campus as well as in our surrounding communities.
How did the AC Club work with Aliento?
The Brophy-Xavier Advocacy Club has worked closely in conjunction with Aliento in the past years to promote new immigration policy and to do advocacy work. Both myself and Diego Acevedo, another Aliento Fellow, and students from previous Aliento Fellowship cohorts, worked within this organization and created partnerships with the Advocacy Club to host phone-banking events, teach-in events, and workshops. Advocacy Club hosted phone-banking events with Aliento during the 2020 Election cycle to rally students on our campus to make phone calls to Arizona voters, and to ask for support for our immigrant communities, and in partnership, made hundreds of phone calls in just one night. Advocacy Club has organized for in-state tuition, and most recently organized to rally support for SCR1044, the bill that gives Arizona Dreamers access to in-state tuition.
Would you recommend the fellowship? Why?
I wholeheartedly recommend the fellowship to all students because the memories during the year of the fellowship is enough to last a lifetime, through a new family and new experiences. The fellowship has changed the lens of which I see the world, both compassionately and critically. You will cherish the moments you spend in fellowship with other student leaders who are passionate about the issues that impact you and the issues that you care about. I think about the first weekly check-in I had with Jose, and I realize how little I knew about the world and politics that I have since come to know more about.
What’s next for you?
I will be graduating from Xavier College Preparatory, and I will be attending Arizona State University in the fall. I will be majoring in Political Science on a track to law school. My dream since the earliest I can remember has been to become an immigration lawyer and/or a politician because I want to help people like my family who deserve justice and rights in this country. I hope to continue doing advocacy work and activism throughout my college career and for the rest of my life. This work does not end with the fellowship, the world has a long healing journey!
Abril is part of the fellowship program here at Aliento! We provide leadership development, organizing trainings, and provide the tools for our fellows to become leaders in their communities. In order to sponsor a fellow, it takes $5,000. Consider donating to Aliento so we can fund our next cohort of young leaders in Arizona! Will you donate $10, $50, $100 now?