Illustration: Ricardo Rey

The University of South Florida—along with a growing number of large, diverse public institutions—is trying to engineer a better student experience by improving communication across offices, reorienting jobs, and creating new entities like the Office of Academic Advocacy. 

This kind of change isn’t easy, nor does it come without challenges, but it has shown results: USF has boosted its four-year graduation rates by 33 percentage points since 2009. 

For many people, this month's 10-year anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is bittersweet. While creating pathways to higher education and job opportunities for thousands of young undocumented immigrants, the original DACA recipients still have only temporary protected status in the country where they've lived most of their lives.

Diana Pliego and Esder Chong know this well. As immigration advocates and DACA beneficiaries, they are fighting for a permanent solution—for themselves and others.