Jeanette Fuentes knows how overwhelming it can feel when you layer first-day-of-school jitters on top of a new home in a foreign land where your teachers speak an unfamiliar language.

The Pinecrest Elementary School pre-kindergarten teacher, a child of migrant farmworkers turned first-generation college graduate, was once in their shoes.

And it’s what drove the 34-year-old mother of three to return home after college to share the transformative power of education with the next generation. Fuentes is among 19 graduates of Guadalupe Center’s college-preparatory Tutor Corps program who now teach in Immokalee, most with the Collier County Public Schools system.

“I specifically remember coming into the classroom not knowing the language, not even knowing the social cues of being in school, let alone trying to learn how to read and write,” said Fuentes, who as a young child accompanied her parents to work in the fields across the country before the family settled in Immokalee.

“The population that I have in my classroom are students exactly like me,” she added. “So it's easy to relate to them and desire for them to be successful – just like someone else wanting me to be successful when I was their age.”

Throughout high school, Tutor Corps members earn a wage for working with K-2 students in Guadalupe Center’s After-school Tutoring & Summer Enrichment Program, augmented by college scholarships. In Fuentes’ case, that led to a full-ride at Florida Gulf Coast University and a commitment to give back to the tight-knit community where her journey took flight.

“We like to say that our Tutor Corps alumni are changing the world, one college degree at a time,” said Guadalupe Center President and CEO Dawn Montecalvo. “With so many of those alumni coming back home after graduation to teach, they’re also making a conscious decision to guide Immokalee’s future.”

To that end, through a collaboration with Collier County Public Schools and FGCU, a cohort of Tutor Corps grads turned Immokalee teachers (including Fuentes and her younger sister) will soon begin graduate school at the university to pursue a master’s degree in educational leadership.

“The cohort preparing to study at FGCU represents the next generation of educational leaders in the Immokalee community," said CCPS Superintendent Leslie Ricciardelli, who led the collaboration.

“These individuals were raised and educated in Immokalee and are now teachers in the very same classrooms where they were once students. I could not think of a better role model for students than leaders who have walked in the same shoes. They returned home to make an investment in their community—so it’s only right that we, too, make a commitment to invest in their future as educational leaders.”

Since 2004, every Tutor Corps student has completed high school and been accepted to college, with more than 250 (94%) ultimately earning a college degree.

The 31 Tutor Corps graduates in the Class of 2024 collectively earned $4.3 million in scholarship and grant offers to attend institutions such as FGCU, the University of Florida, Columbia, Northeastern, Stanford and more; one graduate is enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Erika Arvizu, 29, followed her older sister, Fuentes, as a Tutor Corps graduate, earning a full scholarship and then a bachelor’s degree from Augustana College in Illinois.

The Village Oaks Elementary School resource teacher initially planned to become a speech pathologist after college. Instead, she also was drawn by the lure of the classroom as a place of comfort, a sanctuary to learn, grow and build connections.

“When my students enter the classroom each day, their smiles never reflect the challenges they face outside of school,” she wrote in her graduate school application. “I feel a strong connection to their experiences, and especially meeting their parents – as I can see my own parents in them as well.

“There’s a level of trust. They know we’re there for them.”

Once in college, Tutor Corps alumni continue to receive guidance and support from back home, including from volunteer mentors in the greater Southwest Florida community.

It’s that sort of sustained support that Guadalupe Center leaders and tutors-turned-teachers alike say is critical to breaking the cycle of poverty and disinvestment in Immokalee, a community of 25,000 where 36% of children live in poverty, fewer than 8% of residents have a bachelor’s degree and nearly 80% of students come from homes where English isn’t spoken.

“I made a conscious decision to come back to Immokalee and give back,” said Tutor Corps alumnae Ana Abarca, a 2016 FGCU graduate who teaches eighth-grade math at Immokalee Middle School and is also enrolled in the educational leadership degree program. “I don’t see myself going anywhere else.”

About Guadalupe Center

Established in 1984, Guadalupe Center provides high-quality, life-changing educational programs to more than 1,950 students annually. Recognized nationally as a model for nonprofits serving students from low-income, rural communities, Guadalupe Center is creating a cycle of prosperity through education for students and families in Immokalee. The organization offers three highly successful programs – the nationally accredited Early Childhood Education Program, After-school Tutoring & Summer Enrichment Program and college-preparatory Tutor Corps Program – that foster personal and academic success leading to economic independence. Platinum-rated by GuideStar, Guadalupe Center is generously supported by private donors, philanthropic organizations and community partners. For more information, please visit GuadalupeCenter.org or call 239-657-7711.