Montserrat Garibay’s passion for the success and well-being of her students is shared by educators in school houses and college campuses across the nation. Garibay, a pre-K teacher in Austin, Texas, differs from most educators in one respect, though: she identifies personally with students who were brought to the United States by their parents and who live in constant fear that they and their families will be uprooted.

For Garibay, a National Board Certified teacher, her long-time advocacy for aspiring American students is her way of giving back the guidance and sense of safety she received from a “really amazing teacher who helped me” through middle school and high school.

As an educator, it’s my civic duty and professional belief that students need all the tools available to become successful no matter where they come from, the color of their skin or who their parents are, said Garibay on a telephone town hall discussion this Wednesday with more than 4,200 educators.

Garibay and her younger sister were brought by their mother to the United States when she was 11 to escape an abusive father. She became a U.S. citizen last fall.

Gaby Pacheco, a Florida DREAMer who put a teaching career on hold because of her legal status, used the town hall to thank the educators who encouraged her to stop being “ashamed and afraid.” Her advice to educators: “Let your students know they’re not alone. To them you will be a protector. You don’t have to know the intricacies of immigration law.”

Another DREAMer, “Akiko,” from California, was brought by her family from the Philippines when she was 10. She related how as a child she learned to “become friends with fear and anxiety.”

Akiko said an educator’s concern for a student can make all the difference. “It’s because of my counselor that I am a nursing student. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for educators.”

Lily Eskelsen, former Utah Teacher of the Year and vice president of the National Education Association, encouraged the educators on the call to be “the voice of so many students and so many families.” She added, “Think about the student who desperately needs Congress to get this right. This is our moment. As educators, we want comprehensive immigration reform. We can make this right.”

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