Jose Santoyo isn’t sure what will happen next.

Jose Santoyo. Photo by Danny Fulgencio

When the 24-year-old SMU student was interviewed for our November cover story, he was concerned that the results of the presidential election could impact his future in the US. Santoyo is one of 845,000 undocumented immigrants exempt from deportation under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a federal program that president-elect Donald Trump has plans to terminate.

“That’s kind of scary for me if I were to lose my DACA, because I feel like right now it’s like a bubble that’s protecting me,” he told the Advocate.

Santoyo graduated from SMU this past Saturday with bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and human rights, respectively. He hopes to continue his education, whether it be a graduate program or law school, and work in public policy.

“I think we need more young people and young Latinos to be involved in this kind of work,” he says. “That’s one of the ways we’re going to be able to move forward for students who would never have the opportunity to experience what I experienced. … What I believe now is my education is to be used to see how I can better help other people.”

SMU’s Engaged Learning Fellowship selected Santoyo to speak at this weekend’s commencement ceremony. His speech then caught the attention of both Fox4News and the Dallas Morning News.

Although it was a nerve-racking experience, Santoyo says he is grateful so many friends, family members and mentors attended the ceremony to support him.

“I just felt very overwhelmed with joy, and I was very fortunate to have that opportunity,” he says.

Watch his speech or read it in its entirety here:

“SMU’s Engaged Learning Initiative has been a life-changing experience for me. Without it, I would not be standing before you today.

“In fact, being a first-generation college student with a SMU degree has broken a cycle for my family and my expectations that a higher education was out of my reach.

“This diploma is a victory for my family and for my community. I want to thank my mother, who almost 16 years ago brought me to this country for a better life.

“As a transfer student, my transition to SMU was difficult. But I did it, thanks to the constant challenge of my professors to excel inside and outside of the classroom. Especially those of my majors: the Spanish department and the Embrey Human Rights program.

“The human rights program caught my attention two years ago with its motto “there is no such thing as a lesser person,” and that’s something I truly believe and I think we all should believe and stand for.

“One of the Human Rights professors, Dr. Bradley Klein, became my Engaged Learning mentor. He supported me as I was developing a project to be the first SMU DACA student to study abroad, leaving and re-entering the US to create a pathway for other similar SMU students in the future.

“DACA is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. It’s an executive order signed by President Obama in 2012 granting students and other special kinds of immigrants relief from deportation two years at a time. Dr. Klein helped me through the SMU legal progress and compliance issues, so that my experience would be successful.

“And it was.

“There are 11 million undocumented immigrants in this nation. That’s almost one out of 30 people who are undocumented. On the one hand, I grew up as American, as your next door neighbor. But on the other hand, I experienced a life of uncertainty created by the fear of deportation and separation from my U.S.-based families and my community, and my inability to connect with my foreign-born families.

“Today’s political climate has created a narrative of discrimination against immigrants, regardless of the fact that this nation continues to be built by immigrants.

“But today I want you to think of me as someone who loves this nation and cares about this nation deeply, and someone who has become an educated and a better person here. Because we all understand that an educated population benefits us all.

“A year and a half ago, President George W. Bush stood at this same podium and said: “You live in a land that is compassionate and decent. Because we believe in the rights and dignity of our own citizenry, we are committed to defending the rights and dignity of people everywhere.”

“Those words are pertinent now more than ever, and SMU has demonstrated that, because SMU is a bridge that brings people together from all walks of life, as is this graduating class. SMU showed us that we work best when we work without borders, and SMU has prepared all 535 of us receiving degrees today to be a part of this country’s present and to work together to create a better future.

“My story is just one of many. On behalf of my fellow graduates, we are grateful to SMU’s faculty and staff members for the outstanding learning opportunities they provided us and the mentoring and guidance they so freely gave.

“We, thank you Southern Methodist University for welcoming all of us into the Mustang family. And for continuing to shape world changers.

“Si Se Puede!”