(NBC NEWS) Getting a Ph.D is challenging enough. But for Yuriana Aguilar, 26, there was an extra obstacle.
Though she has lived in the United States since she was five years old, Aguilar is undocumented. Despite financial difficulties and harsh words from critics, Aguilar became the first undocumented Ph.D recipient at the University of California at Merced last month.
It's not clear how many undocumented students before her, if any, have achieved the same level of education in the U.S.
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