Hispanic woman who immigrated to U.S. alone graduates with honors in law

A young Peruvian woman saw her dream come true Saturday after graduating with honors in law from the University of California, San Francisco.

“When I came from Peru at the age of 15, I never thought that she was going to be a lawyer,” said Katiuska Pimental Vargas, who came to the United States without her parents or previous knowledge of English.

Katiuska's mother, Betzabe Vargas, told Telemundo 48 that she is proud of her daughter's achievement: "Peru is proud that a teenager who came to this country alone has managed to become a lawyer today."

Katiuska's dream began more than 10 years ago, when she decided to immigrate to the United States as a teenager without legal status.

“I came without my parents because the immigration system is very complicated. It was very hard, I had to work on many things when I was 15 years old trying to survive, ”she recalled.

The young woman now says that she will be able to fight for two specific causes: immigrant rights and gun control.

Katiuska Pimental Vargas asegura que luchará por las causas que siempre la han motivado, entre ellas, los derechos del inmigrante y el control de armas.https://t.co/ovkxG7XCTb

— Telemundo 48 (@Telemundo48) May 22, 2023

Betzabe said her 13-year-old granddaughter was murdered at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in 2019, where four people were killed, including 19-year-old shooter Santino William Legan.

“We have to fight for gun reform and we have to protect children,” Katiuska said.

In mid-2022, the young woman created a GoFundMe page to ask the community for help due to the scant possibility of obtaining a good income for being a migrant.

“I was not eligible for federal financial aid or any federal loan programs. I had to find alternative ways to finance my law school tuition and cost of attendance,” she recounted.

“I want to create a path for other immigrant students to follow, and I can only do that with your support,” she concluded.