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Texas Matters: An Underground American Dream

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Julissa Arce graduated at the top of her high school class in San Antonio and went on to succeed in college, before becoming a star of Wall Street. Arce was vice president for Goldman Sachs by the time she was 27 years old — all this while also being an undocumented immigrant living in fear of being deported. She spoke to Texas Public Radio contributor Yvette Benavides.

Arce tells her story in her memoir “My Underground American Dream.”  She also has a new book for young readers, “Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for her American Dream.”

Arce is a CNBC and Crooked Media contributor, writer, speaker and social justice advocate. She is the cofounder and chairperson of Ascend Education Fund, a college scholarship and mentorship program that assists immigrant students regardless of their immigration status, ethnicity or national origin. 

David Martin Davies can be reached at dmdavies@tpr.org or on Twitter @DavidMartinDavi

David Martin Davies can be reached at dmdavies@tpr.org and on Twitter at @DavidMartinDavi