The bridge to citizenship
When Francisca Palacios left El Salvador 23 years ago, she carried along her clothing and her dreams. Over the course of her journey, which included days without eating or sleeping, she lost her bag of clothing. When she finally arrived in Washington, D.C., all she still had was her dreams. “Without dreams, we are not alive,” she recalled. She spent the next two decades working full time at McDonald’s during the day and cleaning at night. Today, Palacios works as a custodian at Harvard and is a U.S. citizen, thanks in part to the Harvard Bridge Program’s citizenship preparation sessions for employees. Palacios, along with two dozen other program participants who recently received citizenship, were honored Tuesday evening at the annual citizenship celebration dinner, held in the sun-drenched penthouse of the Littauer Building at the Harvard Kennedy School. “Dream and work hard,” Palacios said she teaches her children. “This is why we are here...