Illegal Immigrant at Princeton

<p>I found an article on the New York Times' website about Harold Fernandez, an illegal Colombian immigrant who attended Princeton. Harold came to the USA at 13. He worked hard in high school and graduated as the valedictorian. At Princeton, he constantly felt inferior to the other students who came from private schools and wealthy families. Consequently, Fernandez worked tirelessly in his classes and became one of the top students of the freshman class. When Princeton found out he was illegally in the country, however, he was no longer eligible for the federal financial aid he was receiving and could easily have been kicked out of the university. </p>

<p>The two main complaints the university had were that he broke the Honor Code by lying about his permanent residence and was therefore illegally receiving federal financial aid. How Princeton reacted, however, is extraordinary. Instead of kicking him out, they switched his status to that of a foreign student and created a financial aid package for him with their own funds to cover his tuition. They also required him to write an essay in which he needed to recognize why it was wrong to break the Honor Code. Harold Fernandez graduated from Princeton and is now a cardiac surgeon.</p>

<p>Kudos to Princeton! </p>

<p>Here's a link to the article:
An</a> Undocumented Princetonian - NYTimes.com
by: Joseph Berger
Published: December 29, 2009</p>

<p>+1. This is a must read story.</p>

<p>wow…amazing.</p>

<p>So then, why are Chinese people being targeted so much. I’m sure they want the same as Harold.</p>

<p>Worth a read…</p>

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<p>I wouldn’t say the Chinese are the ones being targeted, unless we’re talking about the Chinese illegal immigrants in Italy.</p>

<p>Wow, pretty cool.</p>

<p>Thank you for the article - very unique story.</p>

<p>pretty cool.</p>

<p>I think PtonGrad2000 had posted this story before.</p>

<p>Nonetheless, it is awesome and shows how perseverant us Colombians are :D</p>

<p>Wow, that kid is incredible.</p>

<p>The University did the right thing.</p>

<p>That article brought tears to my eyes.</p>