By Jaqueline Hurtado and Michael Martinez, CNN

(CNN) - A California doctoral student who's an undocumented immigrant has published a free how-to guide on the Internet instructing similar immigrants on finding employment after college and maintaining good health "living in the shadows."

The inspiration for the book came from her family, she said.

"My father has always told me look for solutions instead of the problems," says Iliana Guadalupe Perez, an immigrant since the age of 8 when her parents brought her to the United States from Mexico.

"I always try to find the solution to the problem, if this door closed, what can I do so it opens to me?"

Perez's immigration status has been her biggest problem: she is part of the millions of undocumented students around the country. But she is also a college graduate, and yet her legal status still stands in the way of her job prospects. It's to the point where she wonders if doors won't open, could there be a window?

Read the full post on CNN's Schools of Thought blog