History of American Dream Project

The American Dream Project was founded in 2016 by Alexandra Calleros in response to the disparity observed among her local community concerning first-generation students and higher education. After finding an overwhelming amount of local youth choosing not to pursue a long-term career, Alexandra began to question the reasons behind the deterring of young students. 

Why are students dropping out of high school and joining the labor workforce instead of pursuing higher education? 

When she posed this question to young factory employees, they collectively expressed a lack of bilingual resources needed to support their college planning process. Many students with undocumented parents felt rejected by the system. As a result, they believed college was not an option for them and chose to settle for hard labor. Simple steps within the college planning process such as FAFSA have often been a life-altering and deterring experience for these students. Therefore, ADP is here as a nonprofit bridge to both educate and guide students throughout the college planning processes within every community, but especially, the underserved communities of Michiana.