This is a cross-post from Massachusetts Institute of Technology's CoLab Radio blog by Paul Garcia, a recent University of California, Los Angeles, grad working with the California Construction Academy, a project of the UCLA Labor Center.

This past June, I walked across the stage in front of thousands of students and family members to receive my bachelor’s degree from UCLA. There was a sea of black robes behind and in front of me, and as I set my feet on the stage and saw the crowd, I felt a rush of excitement. With the diploma in my hand, I felt the weightlessness of unlimited opportunity. Yet I knew that I didn’t get here alone. Two generations before me struggled to give me this chance.