Meet Our Scholars

Erick Daniel Aguilar was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras where he lived until moving to Mount Olive, North Carolina at the age of six. An undocumented immigrant in the United States for almost eleven years, Erick lived in a community of only other undocumented Latino laborers, which allowed him to witness the fears that many undocumented people in the United States face: the fear of being arrested, the fear of losing their already low-paying jobs, and the fear of a system that exploits them. Erick was afforded the opportunity to become documented and he did in 2014. He was also lucky to be given the opportunity to attend an elite, public, boarding school: The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM). At NCSSM, Erick became involved with Student Government and advocated for student rights by pushing for administrative reform that held student leaders accountable for their words and actions. He eventually became president of the Latinx Student Organization and president of his school’s LGBTQ - Straight Alliance. Erick dedicates his personal life to advocate for the marginalized communities. He is very interested in studying international comparative studies and economics. He hopes to continue to create safer environments for queer people of color at Duke University and in the Durham community.