Growing Together
By Carlson Wakefield
January 15, 2025
Marcos Gutierrez ’15, director of Creciendo Juntos, identified a gap JBU needed to fill for Latino students. As an admissions counselor in 2019, he began the early planning stages for a new student group.
“We saw a need for awareness, education and opportunities on the admissions side,” Gutierrez said. “This was a gap and an opportunity — only 6% of JBU’s population was Latino.”
Gutierrez’s passion for Creciendo Juntos, or CJ as the community calls it, started from his academic story. As the first member of his family to attend college, he faced significant challenges.
“For me and my family, it just felt like college wasn’t an option,” Gutierrez said. “My family sacrificed a lot for me to be here. When I graduated, I wanted to bring awareness about the opportunities college can bring to the Latino community.”
Gutierrez noticed that Latino students faced multiple challenges on campus, especially when it came to feeling connected and belonging. Many were commuters, making it difficult to build connections with others in the dorms and fully integrate into campus life.
“A big part of college success is a sense of belonging — feeling supported, wanted and understood,” Gutierrez said. “I wanted CJ to bridge those gaps.”
Creciendo Juntos, which translates to “Growing Together,” started with seven students in 2019 and has grown to over 100 students.
“Initially, it was more focused on recruitment and filling gaps,” Gutierrez said. “But then I began to see it as a support system while students were here.”
Open to all students, Creciendo Juntos focuses on providing mentorship, community service opportunities and connections for Latino students on campus.
Senior Wesley Duarte, student director of outreach at CJ, has been a part of the community for the past four years and has seen the group grow exponentially.
“Back when I was a freshman, it felt a lot like just a social group,” Duarte said. “Now we have community service, a mentorship program and networking opportunities. It’s much more than when I first started.”
CJ students are assigned a mentor at the start of their first year. They are only required to meet twice a semester, but most groups meet more often than that.
Freshman Cruz Galvan felt his mentorship’s impact early in his first semester.
“I became friends with my mentor before even knowing he was my mentor,” Galvan said. “That’s how natural it feels to connect here — it’s more than just a program; it’s a support system.”
JBU designed the mentorship program to make an impact on students early in their college experience.
“We first met up in early October, had snacks on the quad, and got to know each other, which bonded us,” said JBU freshman Citlali Tinajero. “It’s like you create a friendship right away.”
Besides the mentorship program, Gutierrez, who now serves as the director of Creciendo Juntos, is intentional about the programming that CJ provides its students.
Freshman year, the focus is on connecting students with faculty who will invest in their success. During sophomore year, CJ teaches students how to have good relationships with roommates, friends and parents. In their junior year, students are taught financial skills and hear stories from experts in the field. As seniors, students hear from alumni sharing their life experiences after college.
“We’re focused on creating connections and providing practical tools — networking, financial literacy, mentorship — that will help students succeed not only in college but in life,” Gutierrez said.
Students hear from different JBU faculty, like Trisha Posey, Ph.D., dean of undergraduate studies, and Ryan Ladner, Ph.D., vice president of enrollment management. CJ workshops are a great way to build community and foster connection, but they also help students learn skills they will use as young professionals.
“We also hold internship workshops and have people from career development talk about preparing resumes,” Gutierrez said. “Each year has a different focus — connecting, relationships, finances and career preparation — so that students gain practical knowledge and expand their network.”
Even though CJ is still in its infancy, it has already significantly impacted the JBU campus and the Latino student population. What started with only seven students and Gutierrez has grown into a thriving community of students pursuing campus leadership and professional opportunities.
“The mentorship program has already helped me with my leadership skills, which is huge for my major in construction management,” Galvan said. “I feel like I’m already preparing for the real world.”
Creciendo Juntos is more than just a social club; it gives students a place that feels familiar.
“It’s so important to have people who understand where you come from,” Tinajero said. “Here, I can talk to someone who speaks my language and shares similar experiences, and it feels like home.”
