Senn High School students create scholarship for immigrant students

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A group of students at Senn High School in Edgewater have come together to create a scholarship fund for immigrant students.

Karla Nunez is the student council president, a straight-A student and an undocumented immigrant. But she is not letting her status in this country stop her from going to college, and she is paying it forward.

"I said, can we create a scholarship for undocumented students, it started from there," Nunez says. "I think about 20 to 30 percent of the students in Senn are undocumented."

Under the direction of counselor Alexander Roi, Nunez and her fellow seniors decided to start raising money to help fellow undocumented students go to college.

They held fundraisers all year and it worked.

"I was very moved by the fact that the students wanted to do this and that they were able to do this," says Roi.

They made $3,000, which was split into two $1,500 college scholarships for two students.

Although she is pleased with the result, Nunez hopes one day, all undocumented students will have the chance to go to college using normal scholarships and financial aid.

Nunez and Roi also hope others know that good things are coming out of Senn High School, including a 96 percent graduation rate.