Help Brenda Ochoa attend the UW!

For those of you who know Brenda, you know that she pours all of herself into service to others, particularly -but not limited to- those in marginalized communities. Brenda is the one who will check up on you when you most need it. She’s the one who moves heaven and earth to be of help to people she doesn’t even know. Brenda has always been most interested in serving the community (for a living if possible). She has led program development and delivery for documented and undocumented Latinx youth across Washington state. She is also the co-founder of Sisterhood Nation, an organization built to break through the isolation women all over the world experience by connecting them to other women, so we can all rise together for a more equitable society.

A little background about Brenda:

Brenda is the daughter of Mexican parents with roots in Oaxaca. She is the oldest sibling in her family and has carried the full burden of that responsibility from a young age. She is the only one of her siblings to be born in Mexico. Due to a crisis in her family, Brenda moved back to Mexico from the United States with her mom as a pre-teen. This, unfortunately, disqualifies her from eligibility for DACA status when she would have qualified had her family crisis not occurred.

Once reunited with her father and brother in the USA, Brenda navigated being a first-generation college student while also discovering what it means to be undocumented. After getting an associate's degree on her own several years ago, Brenda was unable to continue her schooling, so she began working minimum wage jobs to make ends meet (babysitting, waitressing, cleaning houses, cashier at McDonald's, etc.).

She is now ready to go back to get her Bachelor's degree in Education from the UW. Attending UW will grow skills and opportunities for Brenda to help marginalized people and communities while being able to provide for herself independently.

Asking for help:

Brenda has never asked for *anything* from her community, let alone financial support. The idea of asking for financial support, rather than pushing through on her own, brings up feelings of shame, fear, guilt and anxiety, along with an overall feeling of not deserving this kind of help. I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving of a boost from the community she so diligently serves. I am asking you to help show Brenda that her community is behind her.

Brenda has applied for WASFA and is hoping to have help with her tuition, but she hasn’t heard back from the financial aid office (and will not let this deter her from pursuing her degree). Brenda will still work for Equity Institute full-time as she pursues her education, but she will no longer have time to take on additional work on top of her full-time job because she will need this time to study.

Any money raised will be used to help with living costs, books, food, transportation, supplies for school and any tuition that might not be covered.

We understand that not everyone has money to spare. Please share the page if you are unable to donate. Please reach out if you would like to host a fundraiser for Brenda. School is costly, and every little bit helps! Any other donations, in any form, are greatly appreciated as well.