CORVALLIS, Ore. — Every week, Juntos coordinators David Gutierrez and Emily Chavez-Romero travel to middle and high schools in Central Oregon to meet with students and families navigating college and career decisions.
A decade ago, they were sitting on the other side of the table — they were first-generation students, learning how to apply to college through Juntos, a program of the Oregon State University Extension Service.
Both former Juntos participants returned to their hometowns as professionals, helping guide the next generation through the path they once walked.
Juntos, which means “together” in Spanish, is a bilingual program that engages families in college and career exploration through workshops, student clubs and mentoring.
Through Gutierrez’s and Chavez-Romero’s journeys, the program has created long-term support that extends beyond high school graduation.
“We’re not just helping students get into college,” said Jennifer Boyle, Open Campus and Juntos manager in Central Oregon. “We’re helping them stay there and succeed.”
A full-circle journey
When Gutierrez was 16 and attending Culver High School in Jefferson County, he knew he wanted to go to OSU to study engineering. But he had little familiarity with the application process.
Through participating in Juntos family nights and mentoring from Boyle, he enrolled at OSU — but the transition was tougher than he imagined. Balancing coursework, family responsibilities and self-doubt, he struggled academically and faced academic probation in freshman year, putting his financial aid at risk.
Boyle helped him reassess his goals and draft a letter to university officials explaining his situation. Together, they made an improvement plan, and Gutierrez switched to a business management major, gradually rebuilding his academic standing.
“Without Juntos and Jennifer, I don’t think I would be here,” Gutierrez said. “They’re like, ‘David, you’re going to graduate,’ and they helped me.”
Gutierrez’s experience reflects what Boyle calls “summer melt.” It refers to the period before college begins, when students feel overwhelmed and lack support, which can lead them to not show up when school starts or to struggle to adapt in their first year.
Since 2018, Boyle has added an intensive summer mentoring session to help Juntos graduates navigate paperwork, time management, budgeting and the emotional challenges of college life. The effort has since been embedded as a core part of Juntos and Open Campus programming.
Gutierrez was part of her first pilot group. He later returned to Extension as a Juntos student worker, helping facilitate workshops and share his college experience.
After graduating, he applied for an open position with Juntos and began working as a coordinator in October 2022. Now he supports all high schools in neighboring Jefferson and Crook counties.
His favorite role is leading the high school Juntos club at his alma mater.
“You see freshmen who are really shy,” he said. “By senior year, they’re telling me about their graduation plans.
“It’s a very exciting job to hear about their ambitions and makes me ambitious too,” he added.
As a member of an immigrant family and a first-generation college graduate, he is open with students about financial realities and long-term planning. He encourages students to take advantage of Advanced Placement courses and talks candidly about student loans, retirement savings and workplace culture.
“I try to help these students envision a future where they can relax and take it easy,” he said. “Not just a job that pays well, but one that leads to a healthier life.”
Finding a voice
Around the same time Gutierrez joined Juntos professionally, Emily Chavez-Romero also returned to the program as a coordinator in Deschutes County.
Chavez is the daughter of immigrants and grew up in Redmond. She joined Juntos as a teenager after her mother encouraged her.
“I’m really glad my mom pushed me,” she said. “It was the only space where I could be in affinity with people who shared similar lived experiences.”
She attended the University of Oregon, majoring in Indigenous, race and ethnic studies, and interned in Multicultural and Identity-Based Support Services. There, she discovered her interest in student affairs and education advocacy.
When a Juntos coordinator position opened in her hometown shortly after graduation, she applied immediately.
“It was a full circle for me,” she said. “It’s fulfilling to give back the way my home helped me.”
While mentoring a young Latina student with a 4.0 GPA in her first month, Chavez was unprepared when the student broke down in tears to express her appreciation.
“I thought I upset her, but she said, ‘I’ve just never had someone who looked like me who could understand what it’s like to be the first in your family to look at college applications,’” Chavez recalled. “That moment stayed with me.”
Over time, she said, the role helped her find her voice, and she’s able to engage with two worlds: working directly with families and being at the tables that shape policy.
Chavez serves on the Oregon Department of Education’s Latinx Student Success advisory group, which is a statewide initiative that addresses systemic inequalities experienced by Latino students. In 2025, she led efforts for the Dia de Muertos event in Bend, which was the only Latino celebration in Central Oregon.
“When I first started working in Juntos, I felt this role was a little too big,” she said. “Now, I feel so much more empowered, even in this scary time, to continue fighting for representation and basic human rights that we all deserve.”
Following in their footsteps
Ana Laura Jacuinde represents the next generation in that cycle of mentorship.
Jacuinde joined Juntos in seventh grade and remained active through her time at Crook County High School. She is now a junior at OSU-Cascades, majoring in business administration with a specialization in international business.
A recipient of the Presidential Scholarship, the largest scholarship at OSU that covers most of her tuition, Jacuinde credits Juntos with helping her navigate financial aid and be informed about scholarships.
“Many immigrant families weren’t taught to save for college,” she said.
From January 2024 to August 2025, she returned to Juntos as a student worker, assisting Gutierrez and Chavez with workshops and outreach. Born and raised in Prineville, she is close to the community, which helps coordinators build local partnerships.
“When I go to schools, I was able to give recent feedback on how I went through Juntos and what it has been like in college,” she said. “I’m only two years out of high school.”
Jacuinde said she didn’t know what it meant to have a mentor or to have people guide you through academic and life challenges — until she met her Juntos mentors: Boyle, Gutierrez and Becky Munn,
“That mentorship support was one of the most helpful things I gained from Juntos,” Jacuinde said.
Navigating uncertainty
Both Chavez and Gutierrez noticed that federal immigration enforcement surges and financial uncertainty have intensified families’ concerns.
Juntos has reduced some in-person family nights due to safety concerns and increased partnerships with schools and legal organizations to organize “Know Your Rights” trainings.
Chavez has seen attendance decline as families are hesitatant to leave their homes.
Gutierrez said he received the most questions from families regarding funding and affordability. With headlines about proposed Oregon legislative budget cuts to education programs and grants, families are concerned about whether they can still receive reliable, consistent financial aid or scholarships to pay for college tuition.
So Gutierrez would spend more time explaining financial aid systems, legislative timelines and long-term planning to ease families’ anxiety. He would take as much time as needed to answer families’ questions so that they are leaving with more confidence than they came with.
“Sometimes it’s just about acknowledging it’s happening,” Chavez said. “And that you’re not alone.”
“We hope the families will continue to trust us and that we only have our best intentions put forward,” Gutierrez said. “In our culture and community, you’re just known to step forward and keep moving.”
Families interested in learning more about Juntos can find their local coordinator through the Open Campus and Juntos website, or complete an online intake form to get involved.
