THE DALLES, Ore. — One afternoon in April 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrea Flores-Reyna was going about her usual day as a Juntos program coordinator.
Her phone buzzed.
“Check your email.”
It was a text message from her mentee, Yahir Santillan-Guzman, then a senior at The Dalles High School.
Flores thought it was a reminder about a scholarship essay — until a screenshot with flowing red ribbons popped up on her screen.
Her jaw dropped.
It was an offer letter from Harvard University, welcoming Santillan to the class of 2025.
"We’re seeing more students graduate from college or pursue other post-secondary paths that lead to jobs. More students are dreaming bigger after hearing Yahir’s story.”
“I was getting flashbacks of him, a short kid with glasses and asking lots of questions on the very first day he and his parents joined Juntos,” Flores said. “I was speechless and told him that I didn’t have a doubt that he would get accepted. It was very inspirational and very rewarding to see that moment.”
Juntos means “together” in Spanish. It’s a bilingual program from the Oregon State University Extension Service that engages families in college and career exploration through family workshops, student clubs and mentoring.
This summer, Santillan graduated from Harvard with honors in economics.
Dream big in a small town
Santillan grew up on the westside of The Dalles, the son of immigrant parents from Mexico. His father works on fruit farms and drives a truck, while his mother packs fruit and works at Goodwill.
Though busy making a living, his parents cared deeply about their children’s education. Neither was familiar with the U.S. school system, but they were determined to support Santillan in any way they could.
So, the Santillan family attended the Juntos program information session when Yahir was in eighth grade to learn about how to prepare for high school. Flores, who also comes from a Spanish-speaking family, is a first-generation college graduate and attended the same high school, quickly built trust with the family.
Program coordinators like Flores help students walk through every step, from high school course selection to college financial aid applications. Juntos also organizes campus visits across Oregon, giving students a tangible sense of what college life can look like.
For Santillan, those early sessions were his first real introduction to post-secondary education.
“It was really eye-opening,” he said. “I didn’t know anything about the college admission process. I remember I would always look forward to having those sessions because they were so interesting.”
At The Dalles High School, Santillan followed the “college checklist” he learned through Juntos. He enrolled in as many Advanced Placement classes as possible and stayed active in extracurricular activities, including soccer, tennis and Key Club, a student leadership organization.
Importantly, he remained deeply involved in Juntos, eventually becoming the president of the Juntos Club.
He later carried skills he learned from the club, such as leadership, project management and interpersonal communication, to Harvard. He served as the director of operations for the student organization Latinxs in Finance and Technology, wrote for The Harvard Crimson, and participated in an undergraduate clean-energy group.
“Yahir was very eager to take any opportunity that was handed to him and was very much willing to ask for help,” Flores said. “It’s been fun watching him grow from a quiet kid to a confident, outgoing individual through higher education and now in his professional world.”
Juntos thread continues
In August, Santillan moved to Washington, D.C., to become a paralegal at the law firm Covington & Burling LLP. He plans to apply to law school in the next few years.
His ties with Juntos and his hometown didn’t end when he left high school. Flores stayed in touch with him, checking in on how college is going and on his career plans. He returned to his alma mater as a guest speaker to share his experience and mentor students via Zoom in his free time.
“The Dalles is a very small agricultural town, where many students are immigrants or first-generation,” he said. “Juntos connected me with students in similar situations, and we built a support network together.”
Flores said one of Juntos’ strengths is its long-term approach. The program stays connected with students beyond high school and continues working with families, especially when younger siblings follow in their older siblings’ footsteps. Santillan’s younger sister, Yamari, now a sophomore at Boston College, was also part of Juntos.
All Juntos sessions are bilingual, which largely helped Spanish-speaking families navigate an unfamiliar education system in a foreign language. Santillan said his parents were with him at each family night and workshop, so they understand why things like extracurricular activities and volunteering matter to him as he prepares for college. They also made time to drive him to places he needed to go.
“Your family is your biggest motivation,” Flores said. “I get to see that family component grow into a foundation for Juntos. We’re seeing more students graduate from college or pursue other post-secondary paths that lead to jobs. More students are dreaming bigger after hearing Yahir’s story.”
Although Juntos was designed to serve Spanish-speaking communities, Flores emphasized that the program welcomes any family interested in exploring college and career paths.
Amid a challenging time
Recently, concerns about immigration enforcement have affected Juntos participation. Many sessions have adopted a hybrid model, allowing families who feel unsafe commuting to in-person sessions to join virtually.
“It’s unfortunate that even things as simple as joining a Juntos club meeting is promoting fear in the community,” Santillan said. “But even remotely, I think the mentors have so much guidance and knowledge in the [post-secondary education] process that the impact can be immeasurable for a student and their family’s life. I know for me, it really changed my life.”
Despite reduced social media outreach, Flores said she wants to let people know that all Juntos program coordinators are ready to do everything they can to support families and students as they navigate difficulties.
“Because more than anything, they’ll always be important to us,” she said. “We continue to be hopeful that things will get better. We’re happy to meet with you, even if it’s virtual, even if it’s a phone call, or even if it’s me finding somewhere safe to meet you at.”
Families interested in learning more about Juntos can find their local coordinator through OSU Extension’s Open Campus and the Juntos website, or complete an online intake form to get involved.
