Risking deportation to her native Mexico, Castillo is publicly campaigning for sweeping changes in the way the U.S. deals with its 11 million undocumented residents. She is especially promoting a bill in the U.S. Congress – the – that would help people like herself who were brought to America as children by undocumented parents. DREAM stands for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors.

When she spoke at the University of San Francisco in 2011, Castillo received an honorary doctorate “for unwavering advocacy for the passage for the DREAM Act.” She was the youngest EMU graduate ever to win an honorary doctorate.

A standout student at Turner Ashby High School in Bridgewater, Va., Castillo faced bleak prospects for college and employment when she graduated. Many colleges do not admit undocumented students and most employers will not hire someone like her. She does not have a Social Security number.

EMU admitted Castillo, but she struggled to pay her way, since undocumented students do not qualify for the usual loans and scholarships. However she managed to graduate in 3½ years with the highest academic honors, earning a degree in social work.

Now she travels widely to speak and campaign while working as a server in a family restaurant in Harrisonburg. After speaking with Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia recently, he told Castillo’s story on the floor of the U.S. Senate during debate on an immigration bill.

“Every day about 1,000 undocumented immigrants get deported from the U.S.,” she says. “Deportations should end while Congress tries to pass immigration reform.”

“I haven’t worked with any other young alum who has accomplished as much as Isabel in such a short period of time,” says , EMU’s director of career services. “She has the odds stacked against her and yet she continues to persist and successfully advocate for her cause.”

This semester, EMU is holding activities on one day – Wednesday, Feb. 11 – and moving from the Campus Center to the spacious hallway on second floor of the University Commons.

EMU freshman Jihoon Park (left), 19, of South Korea, talks to Mennonite Central Committee’s Sonya Charles in October 2008 during the fall semester Mission and Service Days. Photo by Nikki Fox, Daily News-Record

“We’re trying a few different things this time around – everything happening on one day, in a different setting, inviting local community ‘learning agencies’ and serving refreshments,” said Jennifer Litwiller, director of career services at EMU. “We hope the end result is more students and others checking out the many service opportunities,” she added.

Representatives from at least 11 church-related agencies will have displays set up and will be available all day to talk with students and area residents about possible service openings with their organizations.

Participating agencies will include: Eastern Mennonite Missions, Salunga, Pa.; Mennonite Mission Network, Elkhart, Ind.; Mennonite Central Committee, Akron, Pa.; Virginia Mennonite Missions, Harrisonburg; Paxton Ministries, Harrisburg, Pa.; PULSE (Pittsburgh Urban Leadership Service Experience, Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Wycliffe Bible Translators, Willow Street, Pa.

Community Learning agencies will include: Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Clubs of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County, Community Mediation Center, Harrisonburg Gift & Thrift, Habitat for Humanity, Mercy House, NewBridges Immigrant Resource Center, Our Community Place and Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community.

An extended university chapel service 9:55-10:40 a.m. Wednesday in Lehman Auditorium will complement the mission-service theme. Steven Mosley, a writer, filmmaker and biblical storyteller from Orange County, Calif.,will give a 42-minute performance, “The Chosen Garment: the Whole Bible in One Act.”

For more information or to schedule an appointment with a service representative, call Jennifer Litwiller in the career services office at 540-432-4131. More information is also available online.