Dacademy was created by recipients of Deferred Action (DACA), to provide community and professional guidance through tutorials and educational workshops.
Created in 2021 by six beneficiaries, Dacademy was born with the purpose of supporting the DACA community through mentoring on their way within academic and work spaces. The idea of creating a community that provides these types of resources arose thanks to a research and survey conducted by its founders, where they identified the main challenges for DACA recipients in their academic and professional lives.
Through the research, they were able to learn about the most common challenges that DACA recipients face, since there is a general lack of knowledge about the opportunities to access a university education or to enter the labor market. The DACA community often has doubts about the eligibility criteria and the resources they have to enter academic and professional spaces. Another of Dacademy's goals is to create a community of DACA recipients that is safe and inclusive, where there is a network to exchange resources and experiences.
The solution that the founders of Dacademy came up with was mentoring programs with more experienced beneficiaries. The mentoring program includes workshops every fortnight and has a curriculum for the development of skills of the beneficiaries.
“All components of this mentoring work toward three key outcomes: first, building the confidence of learners to navigate their careers as DACA recipients; second, create a safe space for apprentices to openly express their complaints about being undocumented; and the third, improving social capital within our community, ”explains the Dacademy website.
“This is a deeply personal issue for each of us. We do not do this for compensation. We do this because we really want to make an impact. And in fact we want to make a difference in the lives of young DACA recipients and immigrants who really need it, ”explained Orlando Gil, one of the founders.
Although this initiative took its first steps in the spring of 2021, there are currently ten pairs of mentors and mentees. However, Gil explains the importance of obtaining greater financing opportunities to continue growing: "The goal for the second year is 50 pairs, and 250 at the end of year five," he concludes.
Learn more about Dacademy by clicking here.
