( CNN ) I think back to 56 years ago : What if ? If my father had not been brave and hungry for a better future in America , there would be one fewer public administrator , one fewer third grade teacher and one fewer student in medical school in my family . Had so many young people not given their youth , their energy , their strength and their love for this country , the America we know would not exist . I owe the America I know to my father and the many men that toiled long ago in the fields of our past . I owe my success to my father Herminio , mother Juanita and countless others that dreamed of a better tomorrow . They dreamed of a better tomorrow never knowing if they would reap the slightest of benefits from their hard work . Today I stand as a testimony to that dream . As a teenager , my father left his life of poverty in Mexico for the promise of a new life in the United States in 1959 . The hard , physical work of picking crops in the fields of California , Arizona and Texas , earned him less than a dollar a day , once room and board was subtracted . The Braceros program granted him a work visa and when he finished the program , he began his path to citizenship . My father did not complete any formal education past fourth grade . In that era in Mexico , you had to pay for school past a certain grade and my father 's family could n't afford it . He was limited to menial work and low wages . Unlike my father , I was n't born into a life destined for backbreaking labor . My dad brought us into a world with endless possibilities . The sky was truly the limit and for the first time in his life , my father had hope -- for us . Our upbringing was humble , but my parents provided for all 12 of us children . They taught each and every one of us the importance of education . Our childhood was filled with the joys of love , laughter and belief in God . My father created paradise in a modest , two-bedroom home in the inner city of San Antonio , Texas . Our eggs came fresh every morning from the miniature chickens we raised . We were raised to live off the land , just like our father did as a younger man . We had a goat , a turkey , a potbelly pig , ducks , geese and chickens . Many of my fondest memories were of feeding and tending to our animals . One would assume that we lived on a farm . But balancing a life of dual identities was not an easy feat for either my siblings or me . I recall having to wake up early on Sunday mornings to feed the chickens and collect the eggs , while my friends were going to the zoo , water park or the mall . When Mondays came around , I dreaded talking about what I did that weekend . I did n't want to be judged , so I always made something up . The frustration of not being able to fit in gave way when I started getting positive feedback at school . I was outperforming my peers in English and writing , and I was finally getting recognition by my teachers and classmates . I felt that I finally was doing something like everyone else . I excelled at school . I decided to take a chance and apply for college . I started at the University of Texas at San Antonio in fall 2002 and graduated with a bachelor 's degree in English and a Master 's in public administration . I was the first in my family to get a college degree -- I 'm the seventh out of 12 children . All of my siblings after me went to college and today we have a public administrator , a teacher and a medical school student in the family . Now , I work in an urban school district as a site coordinator for the federal initiative Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs . The program sets out to make a college education a reality for underrepresented students and communities experiencing high poverty . I work to remove those barriers so that every one of my students has a chance at a life like the one that was given to me by my parents . I have given myself to a life of service . I am now responsible for helping many young children reach their potential and live a life our ancestors could only dream of . I am the dream . I am an American . And I am the proud son of an immigrant . Are you a first-generation American ? Share your story with CNN iReport .
RochaJuan Rocha 's 's father came to the U.S. from Mexico on a work visa program . While his father picked crops , Juan Rocha 's did n't have a life of backbreaking labor . One of 12 children , Juan Rocha 's thanks his father and mother for their sacrifices . Are you a first-generation American ? Share your story with CNN iReport .