On Thursday, December 9, 2010, one day after the DREAM Act passed in the House, the Senate voted to table the discussion until the following week. It's another setback for the effort to create a path to citizenship for undocumented young people who complete either two years of military service or attain a college degree.
Since the summer of 2010, the photographer Mark Abramson has been following the ongoing story of the DREAM Act, collecting images of young people who have "come out" about their immigrant status. "I originally was sent on a quick assignment by the Washington Post to cover some of the rallies in front of the White House," says Abramson. "I wanted to learn more about these undocumented youth that were coming out and speaking about their status openly. I followed them everywhere for weeks. They were gracious enough to let me in to their residencies and document their lives and follow them around the city.
"After leaving D.C. at the end of the summer to go and work in Milwaukee, I continued to follow the movement and report from the Midwest for the Journal Sentinel. This is an ongoing personal project that I plan on evolving and growing."
What follows is a selection of photographs from Mark Abramson's ongoing series, DREAM.
Rice grain and white rice.Image via 
Person eats rice.Image via 
Washing and rinsing rice. 
Mother and daughter eating rice meal.Image via 
Janitor mops a hallwayCanva
A group of volunteers clean up trash from a fieldCanva
A monkey looks at its reflection in a mirrorCanva
A happy woman holds up a smiley face balloonCanva
Father talks with son.Image via 
Dad and son sit on the floor flexing muscles.Image via 
"Now I'm intrigued." 
Celebrate the wins.Image via 
Surprised and happy mother.Image via 
Problematic homework question
A student’s brilliant homework answer outsmarted her teacher's ridiculously sexist question
From an early age, children absorb societal norms—including gender stereotypes. But one sharp 8-year-old from Birmingham, England, challenged a sexist homework question designed to reinforce outdated ideas.
An English teacher created a word puzzle with clues containing “UR.” One prompt read “Hospital Lady,” expecting students to answer “nurse.”
While most did, Yasmine wrote “surgeon”—a perfectly valid answer. Her father, Robert Sutcliffe, shared the incident on X (formerly Twitter), revealing the teacher had scribbled “or nurse” beside Yasmine’s response, revealing the biased expectation.
For Yasmine, the answer was obvious: both her parents are surgeons. Her perspective proves how representation shapes ambition. If children only see women as nurses, they internalize limits. But when they witness diversity—like female surgeons—they envision broader possibilities.
As Rebecca Brand noted in The Guardian: “Their developing minds are that little bit more unquestioning about what they see and hear on their screens. What message are we giving those impressionable minds about women? And how might we be cutting the ambitions of little girls short before they've even had the chance to develop properly?”
X users praised Yasmine while critiquing the question. Such subtle conditioning reinforces stereotypes early. Research confirms this: a study found children as young as four associate jobs with gender, with girls choosing “feminine” roles (e.g., nursing) and boys opting for “masculine” ones (e.g., engineering).
Even preschoolers avoided careers misaligned with their gender, proving sexist conditioning begins startlingly young.
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The problem spans globally. Data from 50 countries reveals that by age 15, girls disproportionately abandon math and science, while boys avoid caregiving fields like teaching and nursing. This segregation perpetuates stereotypes—women are underrepresented in STEM, and men in caregiving roles—creating a cycle that limits both genders.
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This article originally appeared last year.