Aurora students to replicate parents' immigration journey with 22.5 mile walk
The topic for the Survivor Literature classes this year at East Aurora High School is "big," students say.
It's big politically, because it involves immigration and the border with Mexico.
It's big personally, because it represents the historical family experiences of students whose parents crossed the border and headed north.
It's big, students such as 18-year-old Noemi Garcia say, "because the majority of our school is Hispanic and the majority of Aurora is Hispanic. It inspires a lot of people in the Hispanic culture."
Students read "The Devil's Highway" by Naperville's Luis Urrea and are focusing their project this Saturday on assisting local immigrants. Their work follows the projects of past Survivor Literature classes led by teacher Shane Gillespie, that read books and created service projects on topics of sexual assault, child abduction, suicide prevention and the plight of child soldiers.
Through a 22.5-mile trek called "Aurora to Elgin: The Walk for Lost Dreams," this year's group of 130 students aims to raise $14,000 for Centro de Informacion, an Elgin-based agency that helps with immigration, housing, education, parenting, employment, food and public benefits. The walk begins at 8 a.m. in downtown Aurora with 20 faculty members accompanying the students.
"It makes other people see what we're fighting for because we care about the immigrants," Erwin Herrera, 17, said. "Many people can relate to this, especially many of our parents, who crossed the border."
After finishing "The Devil's Highway" in November, students began raising money, each with a goal of $100.
The donation will be a big one for Centro de Informacion, which has a yearly budget of less than $700,000, Executive Director Jaime Garcia said. Their walk will end at the nonprofit's main office, where staff members will welcome them.
"We have had some school groups raise a couple hundred, and that's wonderful, but certainly nothing like this," said Garcia, whose agency assists about 2,000 people with immigration and citizenship applications each year as Kane County's only Hispanic social services agency. "It will be very, very helpful and well put to use."
Even before beginning their walk, students said they've gained insights about the immigration stories of their parents from reading "The Devil's Highway."
The 2004 book chronicles the journey of 12 people who survived and 14 people who died during a border-crossing attempt in a treacherous stretch of Arizona desert.
Urrea said he never envisioned it could open the eyes of young people to their parents' experiences, but he's honored when that happens.
"I think it makes the kids stronger and I also feel it gives young people a lot of hope," Urrea said.
The true story represents the author's attempt to cut through "propaganda and name-calling" about the May 2001 attempt of the group of men to enter America.
"The narrative is sometimes told by people who don't really know and have political agendas," Urrea said. "I tried really hard to show all sides of that story."
Urrea has been promoting the students' walk on social media, pitching their GoFundMe page, The Walk for Lost Dreams at https://www.gofundme.com/the-walk-for-lost-dreams. He said he plans to meet the class when he's home from a book tour.
The author called the students' project "a hard thing and a big thing."
Looking forward to the walk, student Jerry Llamos, 18, said he expects to get a taste of what his mother felt when she crossed. He hopes the trek will remind him of the comforts of his Aurora life and the sacrifices his mother endured.
"You can feel how they felt while walking, except in a different environment," Llamos said. "Here we kind of have it good. Over there in Mexico, people struggle, families struggle, so they come here for a better life."
Having walked long distances with his Survivor Literature students before - 38 miles in 2014 and 16 miles in 2016 - Gillespie said he knows how it goes.
At the beginning, everyone is excited, soaking in the experience. A third of the way through, the mood turns, soreness starts and complaints begin. But toward the end, Gillespie said students will realize this experience - the book study, fundraiser and walk - is something they'll always carry with them.
"One of my favorite parts every year is watching you get to that point," Gillespie said - a point where students realize, "'I did this! I'm going to tell this story for the rest of my life.'"