Juntos Summer Academy Gives Students Immersive Experience at NC State

Last month, 114 high school students from eight different North Carolina counties got a chance to experience everything that NC State’s Juntos program and the NC State campus experience has to offer. 

From June 18-22, Juntos hosted its annual summer academy program at NC State. The week offered opportunities for students to learn and grow their skills, including seven projects, seven skill workshops and six career sessions to choose from. 

“What is most interesting about the opportunities that we get during Academy is that you can meet new people from different counties,” said Juntos student Maira Mendez Claudio. “That’s really good because you can make new friends, you can learn new things about the opportunities for example, what classes you should be taking because some of my friends are taking university classes, and others are interested in other things. It’s really cool to see all the different careers that we want to be in!”

The students also had a chance to participate in a networking fair, a college fair showcasing NC State’s various majors and colleges, a trip to Wake Tech’s campuses and a trip to the NC State Agroecology farm. 

One of the projects the Juntos students worked on during the week was the “Its Corn Project,” led by Alejandro Aragon Raygoza, a postdoctoral research scholar, about corn genetics.

“This was my first time as part of the Juntos Summer Academy, and I had such a great time,” Raygoza said. “The planning of classes and choosing the appropriate words to keep the kids engaged was challenging. But teaching students about molecular biology and corn genetics in Spanish, my first language, was so rewarding. I never thought I would have that opportunity at NCSU. It was so exciting watching the kids at the lab, from learning how to use pipettes to performing all the experiments with their own hands.”

Thirty higher education students from across North Carolina served as “team captains” for the groups of high school Juntos students throughout the week. 

“I gained a lot of networking skills, for sure,” said Team Captain Alyn Gomez Santos. “We did a huge networking program, collaboration, and team building. All the Team Captains worked together, and made sure that the students were happy and safe.”  

At the end of the week, it was clear to the project leaders that the students spent the impactful week learning new skills through their work.

“At the end of Friday’s class, when the students were making their presentations, I was walking around the room and saw their conclusions written on their boards,” Raygoza said. “That’s when I realized that I was able to transmit that corn genetics is interesting, and more importantly, they enjoyed doing the experiments and being part of the laboratory. Also, getting to know many people involved in the Juntos Program inspired me to learn about the outstanding effect that Juntos has on the Latinx community during the final presentation.”

The week concluded with a Saturday closing event, in which the students’ parents were welcomed to NC State by Dean Garey Fox of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), and the students presented their projects to an audience of judges and parents. Their projects were judged using a 4-H presentation rubric meant to prepare students for 4-H county, district, and state presentations. 

“Attending the Juntos Academy closing was profoundly inspiring and motivational for me personally,” said CALS Dean Garey Fox. “What impacted me the most was the incredible outpouring of support and sense of community among the Juntos students and parents. It was evident how deeply meaningful and impactful the connections formed through the program were for everyone involved — the individuals, parents and mentors alike.”