Social Work major Veth Gomez has overcome a lot to get to WNMU. Originally from Sinaloa, Mexico, Gomez moved to Arizona with her mother and older siblings when she was a child.

Because the family lacked permanent legal status in the United States, Gomez (not her real name) grew up in fear. “I grew up very isolated,” she said. “I lived in fear for the longest time.”

Eventually, her family had an opportunity to get a family visa to be in the United States. However, because there is no guarantee the visa will be renewed, Gomez said that the recent uptick in deportation has renewed a lot of her childhood anxiety.

“It has put me in a really weird position in life,” she said. “With the recent political climate, I have found myself crawling back to that place of fear and isolation. I do not want to be in a situation where I don’t know how to defend myself.”

Gomez said that she identifies a lot with the immigrants she sees featured in the media. “All the videos I see on social media,” she said, “I think ‘This could be my family’ or ‘This could be me.’”

The fear she experiences is caused largely by the many unknowns in her life, said Gomez. “Not knowing what is going to happen next, not knowing if I am being targeted, not knowing who I can trust—and that goes for staff, professors, facilities, even friends—I find myself going back in that shell. … I think of that little seven-year-old girl that lived in fear that somebody would break into my house and take my family away, take me away.”

If her family’s visa is not renewed, she said, “We would be undocumented again, without any support, regardless of how much taxes we pay. … We would be in an even more vulnerable situation.”

In addition, said Gomez, she fears that if the visa is not renewed, it would jeopardize her path to becoming a social worker. “Everything that social work has to offer is what I want to do in life,” she said. “The thought of it being taken away, when I am so close to achieving it, is terrifying.”

Gomez’s educational journey to study social work at WNMU was prompted in part by a life-skills class at her high school. The class, she said, “is connected to a nonprofit organization called Elevate. Because the area I am from is underprivileged, there is a lot of crime and violence. [The class] is really there to break the cycle. That program has helped me get here on a full-ride scholarship for academics.”

At WNMU, Gomez was sold on social work as her career path as soon as she took her first introductory class. Now, she is looking ahead to where she might go after she graduates next year. “I really want to work with kiddos—like a full-circle moment,” she said. “I want to work in the schools or in a hospital.”

Her interest in working in healthcare social work was inspired in part by her own experience following a family accident. “We basically lived in the hospital for, like, three months,” she explained, “so I got to see first-hand how medical social workers work. That was very interesting.”

Gomez aspires to eventually earn her MSW and is also considering becoming a therapist. “I really like working with kids,” she said. “So I am leaning toward a therapy route, maybe for kids.”

Her interest in therapy is influenced by her own positive experiences with mental health care, experiences that have helped her feel safe as an immigrant.

The Mental Health Department at WNMU has been a resource she has sought out regularly. “They have been a huge help,” said Gomez. “They have made me feel the safest I have ever felt. Once you walk through those doors, you automatically feel safe. The energy in the room, the love that those people provide—it’s insane. The resources they have shown me—they are amazing.”

With assistance from the therapists in Mental Health, said Gomez, she is working through her fear and managing to have hope for her future career as a social worker. By sharing her story, she asserted, she wants to give hope to other immigrant students. “I want everybody else to have that hope, as well,” she said. “Even though these are hard times, we all stick together.”

 

The Voices of the Borderlands series includes real stories from the WNMU community about how national immigration and border security policies affect students’ lives.