Learning to Lead

“Jennifer R. Nájera guides readers through deep storytelling and profound emotional connection to each of the undocumented college students featured in this beautiful book. The compelling stories of their full humanity demonstrate so powerfully that ‘education’ happens in families, life, community colleges, extracurricular spaces, organizing spaces, and in the classroom. It is a must-read for anyone interested in college students, education, or migration.” - Leisy J. Abrego, coeditor of We Are Not Dreamers: Undocumented Scholars Theorize Undocumented Life in the United States

“In this accessible, compelling, and analytically rich book Jennifer R. Nájera places families and communities at the center of undocumented youth activism. She shows that what happens inside the spaces and institutions of the university is inextricably connected to the broader familial and social context these young people are inhabiting. I do not know of another text that provides a campus-based qualitative study of undocumented student activism. This important and timely book is ideal for teaching in both undergraduate and graduate courses.” - Genevieve Negrón-Gonzales, coauthor of The Latinx Guide to Graduate School

"The mix of testimonios and personal reflections with broader academic themes makes for an eminently readable and engaging text. Highly recommended." - M. R. Michelson, Choice

"Learning to Lead is an essential call to create safe spaces and not to let universities become engulfed in the dehumanization of migrants that is currently spreading way beyond Trump’s America." - Xenia Valeth, Anthropological Notebooks