Our organization began in January 2005 at the University of Texas at Austin as a group of students wishing to address the obstacles facing undocumented students in college and upon graduating.  The small gathering of students became a stepping stone to promoting higher education for immigrant students through educating the public about in-state tuition laws and the DREAM Act.  By July 2005, after attending different strategic trainings and having proactive discussions amongst our leaders, we became established a new organization: the University Leadership Initiative.  Today, ULI prides itself with its:

•    Continuous commitment and support to our immigrant youth
•    Collaboration with the national move to support the DREAM Act, as active participants of the United We DREAM Coalition
•    Partnerships with local, state, and national organizations
•    Communication and collaboration with Texas State Legislators and Members of Congress from Texas
•    Promotion of civic participation amongst the youth

ULI’s Accomplishments
As university students, members of ULI pride ourselves with the knowledge we have on the legislative process, immigration policy, in-state tuition laws, and the DREAM Act.  By conducting extensive research on the needs of undocumented students, we have formulated guides to facilitate the college application process for immigrant students.  ULI is up to date with the actions of the government as it relates to in-state tuition laws and the DREAM Act. As a result of our knowledge, we have become a central resource for others on immigration issues affecting immigrant students.

ULI has received extensive training from experienced political consultants on effective communication and messaging.  Our thorough knowledge and new training on messaging and communication has permitted us to more effectively reach out to different communities, including religious groups, businesses, students, activists, and politicians.  Our newly formatted messages have proven to be more effective with the mainstream public and have also allowed us to form coalitions with unlikely allies.

By attending various nationwide conferences, ULI has met an array of allies from across the country.  Our contacts range from students, teachers, religious groups, business leaders, activists, and politicians.  By establishing and maintaining a Constant Contact program, we have kept in touch with our contacts, kept them informed, and have given them various options on actions.  We have also effectively utilized our nationwide allies for assistance with their respective strengths. 

ULI’s Obstacles
As we are conducting more outreach, our services are being demanded more than our resources allow us to supply.  We have struggled to find the adequate funding to establish educational materials for our outreach purposes.  Because we travel nationwide to educate the public about educational and immigration issues, travel expenses have at time deterred us from conducting the outreach desirable.

Especially with the current xenophobic climate, myths and misconceptions about the immigrant community is already construed on much of the public’s minds.  These false viewpoints many times block our audience’s ability to openly listen to our message.  Even when given cited information from various studies, some people still refuse to believe that immigrants positively contribute to our nation’s economy.  Sometimes, it has been difficult to undo the damage caused by a lifetime’s erroneous message in one hour.