The story of Miguel Aguilar is one of hard work and resilience, and ultimately a tale as American as apple pie.
Born just across the Rio Grande in Ciudad Juarez, Aguilar endured a dangerous childhood: A violent drug war between rival cartels had transformed Juarez into the murder capital of the world. When his teenage sister was almost taken hostage in a failed kidnapping attempt, his family fled the area and escaped to Northern California.
Aguilar struggled with life domestically in rural Sacramento. Unable to speak English at first, the lingering fear of deportation was always in the back of this mind of an often isolated youngster.