Militza has only lived in the United States for about two months. And the 17-year-old has been attending school in Hamilton County for even less time – about a week.
Originally from Guatemala City, the capitol of Guatemala, Militza came to the U.S. this spring to join her parents, who had already been living here for four years.
Militza speaks almost no English, but she sits in a classroom at The Howard School. She is determined to get a high school diploma and one day return to Guatemala, she told the Times Free Press with the help of an interpreter.
One of her classmates, Mycol, 17, speaks better English than her. He lives with an older brother and works after school and on weekends, like Militza, while also attending school and attempting to succeed, despite a huge language barrier and his previous lack of formal education.
Mycol came to the U.S. “to work and study,” he said slowly. He spent several months in an ICE detention center on his journey from Guatemala to his new home. He misses his parents.