How the Migrant Program Helped Me

Lila Dodge, a former student with the Northeast METS shares her testimony about how the Migrant Education Program helped her. Lila’s grit, determination, and perseverance has served her well and she is grateful for the support of the Northeast METS staff over the years. Lila submitted the following paragraph to Laura Burnett, Director of the Northeast METS, as part of the Alumni Corner section of their newsletter and yearbook. We absolutely had to highlight it here as well!

"The Migrant Program allowed me to reach the goals I have always had set for myself, law school. As a member of the Migrant Program, I went on college tours, gained valuable study and academic skills and experience. I was given the opportunity to visit Washington D.C.  and I even had the opportunity to talk to state legislators. In high school, I had set times I could meet with my school’s migrant tutor. This was a time I would always look forward to throughout the week and learned valuable academic skills and practices. Besides that, this time allowed me a place to talk and decompress throughout the hectic school year. I am now in my last semester of undergraduate school at Siena College, graduating a full year early. I will be getting my bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a concentration in American Politics and Justice. I also have a minor in Criminal Justice and a Pre-law certificate. My next stop is law school. I have applied to seven schools and have already heard back from half of them with merit scholarship offers. I never would have had the courage, strength, or confidence to pursue my dreams of becoming an attorney without the help of the Migrant Program and the amazing opportunities it gave me. This program allowed me to see myself as being capable of great things, I strive to prove that."

Lila’s touching words is the best kind of feedback! She is a success story and true testament to the hard work that the Northeast METS staff put in and that what is done through the Migrant Education Program is important work! All of us at the NYS-MEP are so incredibly proud of Lila!