Juan was born in Puerto Rico and raised in the City of Firsts – Springfield, MA. The son of an elementary school teacher and truck driver, the value of an education and an honest day’s work was something instilled in him from a very young age. It was during his time in high school (a proud alum of Springfield Central High School) that the importance of service took hold, and during his time as a first year at UMass Amherst where his spark for traveling and helping others truly took off. Juan graduated from UMass Amherst in 2018 with a major in Education Television, inspired by the impact of his mother’s work in the classroom and decades of quality education entertainment seen on PBS (like Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood). From there, he’s worked as a substitute teacher, an undergraduate admissions counselor, a production assistant, and most recently as a college counselor for a high school in his hometown. Still calling Western Mass home, he graduated with his MBA in marketing from Fitchburg State University in 2025, and aims to continue to position himself to serve the youth and his community as best he can. In his free time, Juan is likely either watching movies and curating his personal library, spending time with family and friends, cooking, or rehearsing his karaoke set list.