MIAMI — "I just basically was the little bridge from the immigrants and all the resources this country has," Isabella Arango said.
Arango is a high school student making a big impact.
The graduating high school senior from Miami Arts Studio is part of the school's entertainment law magnet. She is accoladed with multiple honor societies, including the National Spanish Honor Society and Rho Kappa.
Her family is Colombian, and she is a first-generation immigrant.
"They had a lot of trouble speaking the language," she said, "and it cost us a lot of money and resources to study for citizenship exams, and they struggled a lot."
It's that struggle that pushed her to create an Immigrant Resource Center called ACE, connecting resources with Miami's immigrant community.
"Studying for citizenship exams, English classes, paperwork, work permits, so many things," Arango said. "I felt like I needed to do something about that because I can't change the past, and I can only help the future."
Arango got the program started through her school's magnet, where she connected with professionals in the immigration field. She also interned at a center that helped those looking for asylum, and it's there where she got her clientele.
"Buenos Dias! Como estas Señora Diana?" Isabella asked her client via Zoom.
She meets with them and teaches them how to become a U.S. citizen.
"I reference this story that I met this family from Guatemala," shared the young student with a smile. "I helped them find shelter. … I helped them find resources for their child with autism, free resources that this country has."
But that's not all.
"I helped them find work permits. They started working. They applied for residency. I helped them with that paperwork. Then they completed their years, and now they are studying for their citizenship exam."
She said seeing all of this warms her heart.
"It's beautiful to see that growth, not just for the parents, but the parents securing that future for their children too," Arango said.
But she's not doing this alone.
Her peers at her school help to tutor, collect donations and spread the word.
In a school that is 97% Hispanic, Arango's principal, Miguel Balsera, said they all have a desire to give back.
"All of our families have gone through that at one time or another, so I think there's automatically a connection between the students and the topic. And I think when you work with Isabella and just the way she, her demeanor, her buy-in, she's all in on this. She's a very easy person to get behind," Balsera said. "So, there's just a great synergy behind the whole entire area."
Balsera has been Arango's principal since she was in kindergarten, watching her growth and interest in this topic continue to expand.
It's what paved the way for her to receive a full ride to Duke University in the fall, something she always dreamed of.
"It really means the world to me that there are resources in this country, corporations that are willing to help first-generation students like me, women like me, children like me who came from immigrants who had nothing, who only came with a single dream, their grit, and their hard work and determination," Arango said.
She hopes to continue the ACE program in some capacity at Duke University. As for her future plans, she said she wants to become an immigration lawyer.
