Ariadne Pacheco
Ariadne Pacheco
Research Team MemberEd.M. Candidate in Education Policy and Analysis, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Email: ariadne_pacheco@gse.harvard.edu
My name is Ariadne Lilian Pacheco and I am a current Ed.M. Candidate in Education Policy and Analysis at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. My research interests are focused on children without documentation and immigrant-youth access to higher education, specifically, pushing accountability- based reforms and inclusive policy initiatives in universities and international education institutions on protecting the right to education and allocating resources to students without a legal immigration status, refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrant youth.
At age 13, upon arriving in the U.S., I told my mother I would learn English to come to Harvard. I understood quite well that this was an aspiration beyond mine and my family capabilities, and yet if I achieved it, I needed to accept early that I would hold a degree that I would not be permitted to legally use because of my undocumented status. I became the first in my family to learn English and graduate from college, but without the authorization to work. With a double major with honors from a U.S. university, I continued to work in a factory, but this time, determined to pursue a graduate education and call for social justice in the higher education system. Today, I have the privilege to be a graduate student at Harvard and I intend on using my degree to serve undocumented and marginalized communities through inclusive policy and research. I aspire to see more undocumented students accessing a higher education and make colleges and universities a welcoming and supportive space for all students.
