Jahdai Guerrero
Edgewood College
Jahdai Guerrero is a sophomore at Edgewood College majoring in Psychology: Clinical Counseling. She is passionate about working with immigrant communities locally and globally. She is a member of the Bonner Leaders Program, volunteering at a community center that serves the local Latinx community. With Dominican Life, she helped plan and run a migration simulation on campus, raising awareness and funds from her peers. She has incorporated her work with immigrant communities into her major, supporting and assisting with faculty research on the US/Mexico Border. As a peer mentor and RA, Jahdai is not afraid of facilitating difficult conversations, challenging perspectives and working for a just and compassionate world.
Personal Statement
I am an immigrant. This has the main reason why I have decided to address issues of social justice. I started by volunteering at a Monastery in Arizona during Spring Break where I had the chance of interacting with different individuals. I had the opportunity of interacting with the LGBTQ+ community, and they clearly expressed a fear of going back to their countries because they were going to be end up being killed by gangs for having a different gender identity. They also explained to us the inhumane treatment that they received on the Mexico/US border. As an immigrant I have come to experience the injustice and mistreatment human beings receive. I have come to understand that the social justice system in the U.S. does not address immigrants’ rights as human beings. The policies implemented are only based in creating greater immigration barriers. I am currently doing research on asylum seekers and the different ways how these individuals can find a way to obtaining a legal status. I am also presenting in USHLI regarding asylum policies implemented in the US.
