USU’s DREAM Center Celebrates a Decade of Empowering Underserved Students
By Teagan Davidge
2025 marks a decade of unwavering support and transformative change for the DREAM Center of the University Student Union at California State University, Northridge. For ten years, the center has been a beacon of hope for undocumented students, championing their dreams and advocating for their rights.
“Ten years means to me ten years of resilience, power, perseverance and much more to come with the movement,” said Danny Guerrero, DREAM Center student event assistant. “We’re looking forward to the future, looking forward to the coalition building and continuing with strength.”
At the recent Nurturing Roots, Cultivating Futures: A Decade of Dreams event, held to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the DREAM Center, community speakers including former DREAM Center employees and faculty mentors discussed the necessity of the center after activism, the space’s development and the programs the center now offers after ten years of growth.
The event also featured a gallery walk highlighting photos from the center’s past and a butterfly decorating art activity that will be displayed in the center.
“Ten years of the DREAM Center to me means ten years of passion, resiliency, of the fight for immigrant rights and the fight for an equitable future,” said DREAM Center Manager Irvin Rendon.
The DREAM Center offers immigration legal services through partnership with CARECEN, the largest Central American immigrant rights organization in the country, free of charge to students, faculty, staff and immediate family. An immigration attorney is onsite on a weekly basis for general immigration related consultations.
The center also puts on Coming Out of the Shadows, a week of advocacy driven, educational workshops and community-building experiences that included the tenth anniversary celebration this semester. This week of events enhanced students’ understanding of their rights and taught students how to organize within their communities.
“Ten years at the DREAM Center means an evolution, really. It’s growth of opportunities available at the DREAM Center for those prospective students that will make their way to CSUN,” said DREAM Center Operations Supervisor Karen Castillo.
With recent government policy changes regarding immigration, the DREAM Center has been increasing the frequency of its programs and workshops, such as training for allies to undocumented students and information sessions about immigration law updates, work permit eligibility and traveling for non-citizens.
The DREAM Center remains committed to its mission of providing empowering resources, increasing knowledge of the ever-changing political climate and believing that students thrive when they feel supported in their autonomies to confidently pursue their aspirations and goals.