My name is Laura Lemus and I’m the new administrative coordinator at Long Island Wins.
I recently graduated from SUNY Old Westbury with a Bachelor’s Degree in History and Philosophy and a Minor in Global Studies. While at SUNY Old Westbury, I got the opportunity to intern with Long Island Wins, which is where I developed my passion for immigration advocacy.
While at Long Island Wins, I was able to participate in countless rallies and events, and appeared on local radio, speaking on behalf of millions of DREAMers who were in very similar situations as myself. Like 11 million other aspiring Americans, I was undocumented.
I was born in Tuxpan, Mexico and was brought to the United States by my parents when I was six months old. My family settled in Sag Harbor, which is the only place I’ve ever called home. I was raised there, I went to school there and it’s where we’ve lived for more than 20 years.
Being an undocumented student, after graduating I thought that I would have to leave all of this great advocacy work behind and move onto something that I didn’t have much personal interest in. Luckily, I was approved for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) in July and received a permit to work legally and obtain a driver’s license. At the same time, Long Island Wins, this organization that I had worked so closely with and had so much respect for, had an opening for an administrative coordinator.
After being a part of all the good work Long Island Wins was doing as an intern, I knew I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity and apply to become a permanent part of the team. Thankfully, the interest was mutual and I ended up starting full time in July.
I know I am so fortunate for how things turned out. I could not be happier to be a part of the Long Island Wins team and to be able to help advocate for an issue that means so much to me and my family. I look forward to working with all of you to advocate for the passage of comprehensive immigration reform in the coming months.
