“Imagine going to a different country, and nobody is speaking your language,” said freshman Fedelina Domingo. Which is exactly what she did on her journey moving to America. She left her home on May 5 and on her near month journey, she went through more than most of us could ever imagine.

“When [I] first left my town, [I] traveled on a bus from Guatemala to Mexico,” said Domingo, “In Mexico, there was man waiting for [me] and 15 others to take [us] to a homeless shelter.” They each had a code to tell the person at the bus-stop to know who would be traveling with them.

At the second shelter, there was a Honduras man who had tried to rape another girl in the shelter. Domingo didn’t know either of them but she said, “After [I] saw that, [I] was more insecure. [I] knew [I] had to be aware of [my] surroundings.”

After the second temporary home, she and a few others took a three-hour bus ride to a different state in Mexico to stay at the third shelter. She had a little supply of money and water left in her backpack. But when they left the last house, they had to leave their bags because they couldn’t carry any more stuff with them. At that point, she was parentless; she only had only two other girls with her and the rest were men. “[I] didn’t feel secure talking to anybody except the two girls,” she said. One of the girls was 17 and the other was 10. “The 10-year old didn’t have anyone, it was just her,” said Domingo.

During each leg they traveled at night so the Mexican border police wouldn’t catch them. “One day, [we] went during the day and [I] saw a policeman, [I] was scared he would stop and ask for identification and then send [me] back to [my] country,” she said. When riding the bus, they only had one meal a day. When they weren’t on the bus, they had two; one in the morning and one at night.

When coming into America, you can only come on foot or by car. You have to show the guards your ID, and then you can come into the USA. She, along with two girls, and a boy were able to come over legally, while the others had to stay behind because they didn’t have the correct documentation. “When [I] got to the US, an officer stopped and asked where [my] parents were and for [my] birth certificate. He sent [me] to a center in Texas for minor immigrants,” she said. She stayed there for 12 days and they provided her with clothing, hygiene products and schooling. Afterwards it was time to make her way to North Platte.

Her dad paid around $1,000 for a plane ticket to North Platte. “When [I] saw [my] dad, [I] felt happiness and secure,” said Domingo. Her dad had lived in the US since before she was born, so this had been the first time they had met in person.

“[I] like it here, but [I] miss [my] mom. She didn’t have the right papers and documents,” she said. “[I] like [the school] but it feels different,” she said, “In class, they speak English, so it’s hard and confusing.” No matter how difficult, she fights through it. She wants to learn to speak and understand English. In the future, Domingo wants to graduate and go to college to be nurse.