Studies from the Pew Research Center show that Latino students continue to face barriers to earning undergraduate and graduate degrees, with affordability mentioned as a top barrier. Juan Aguilar-Estrada, a 2026 Latino graduate student, knows firsthand how important financial support can be. Scholarships made it possible for him to earn his master’s degree, and now he’s supporting other students through mentorship and sharing his story.
“If there’s a way to get a message to the donors, I’d just like to say, I’m really grateful and thank you. This scholarship made a huge difference in my financial situation,” Juan Aguilar-Estrada, MBA, and scholarship recipient of the Helen McLoraine Nonprofit Employee Scholarship.
The mentor who changed his mind about college
Neither of Aguilar-Estrada’s parents went to college, instead they worked to pay the bills and support their families. With both parents working full-time jobs, and his father working two jobs, conversations about going to college and the importance of continuing education didn’t come up at home. Aguilar-Estrada said he didn’t take high school seriously, leaving him with a 1.3 GPA.
But that all changed in his junior year after a conversation with his mentor. Aguilar-Estrada remembers his mentor telling him, “Your past doesn’t define you. It doesn’t matter what your GPA is. You can definitely get an education. Nobody is stopping you but you.” His mentor came from a similar background to Aguilar-Estrada. He was Latino, came from a low-income family, and was the first in his family to get an undergraduate degree. Aguilar-Estrada remembers how hearing his story shifted the way he thought about education and his own future.
That conversation encouraged him to put more effort into school, and he turned his grades around and boosted his GPA to 2.9 by graduation. Aguilar-Estrada was motivated to continue his educational journey after seeing his own progress and learning about the underrepresentation of Latino students who complete their post-secondary education.
Navigating college as a first-generation student
Since Aguilar-Estrada was the first in his family to go to college, he didn’t know how to navigate the college system, and he didn’t have older siblings or his parents to help him, particularly when it came to financial guidance. He had to figure it out for himself. He leaned on the norms of a “traditional college experience,” like living in the dorms, not fully aware of the financial consequences or some of the other, more affordable options. Looking back on it, Aguilar-Estrada said, “I wish I didn’t do that. All that stuff put me further in debt.”
To help pay for school, he got a job at Home Depot, working 30-40 hours while going to school full-time. During his undergraduate studies, he connected with a campus advisor, Adrian Mendoza, who helped Aguilar-Estrada not only with his academics but also with his work and personal life. It was this connection that eventually led Aguilar-Estrada to his job at the Denver Scholarship Foundation (which is a separate and independent organization from The Denver Foundation).
In this role, Aguilar-Estrada works with 9th-12th graders who, like Aguilar-Estrada, come from low-income families and would be first-generation students. Not only that, but he works with students from George Washington High School, which is the same school Aguilar-Estrada graduated from. He helps them navigate the process of getting into college and finding scholarships. After working in this role for a few years and seeing so many students pursuing their educational dreams, Aguilar-Estrada started to think about continuing his education and getting his master’s degree.
Helen McLoraine Nonprofit Employee Scholarship
Equipped with more knowledge of where and how to look for scholarships, he began searching for opportunities.
“I started first going at the local level. I always tell my students that when you start at the local level, your chances are way higher because they’re tailored to a specific population. And that’s how I found out about The Denver Foundation.” When researching, Aguilar-Estrada found the Helen McLoraine Nonprofit Employee Scholarship.
This scholarship helps strengthen the nonprofit sector by supporting employees of Denver-area nonprofit organizations who are pursuing undergraduate or graduate coursework. To date, it has supported 152 students with a total of $891,154 in scholarships.
Helen McLoraine gave generously throughout her life, supporting research, scholars, early childhood care, people with disabilities, veterans, and athletes. She started a private foundation with her mother in the 1960s, and after her passing, the trustees of her foundation worked hard to ensure that McLoraine’s generosity would continue to make a difference for generations to come.
The trustees set up several permanent endowments at The Denver Foundation supporting a wide range of organizations and scholarships—each designed to support the students and causes that mattered most to McLoraine. At The Denver Foundation, we are one of the few community foundations in Colorado where donors can establish a scholarship fund. We manage over 80 scholarship funds, including the Helen McLoraine Nonprofit Employee Scholarship.
With the Helen McLoraine Nonprofit Employee Scholarship, Aguilar-Estrada was able to attend Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver), complete his master’s in business administration (MBA), and pay off his student loans. “I don’t know if it would have been possible without that scholarship,” said Aguilar-Estrada.
Aguilar-Estrada kept his full-time job as a college advisor at The Denver Scholarship Foundation while attending school, with the goal of growing within the organization and expanding his skill set.
Now he’s helping other students find their way
What makes him most proud is being able to show other students – students who like him – what’s possible, just like his mentor did for him when he was a sophomore in high school and his advisor when he was in college. “Everything that I got exposed to, I decided to give it back, and I still do. I always tell my students the same thing – when you graduate, even if I’m not your advisor anymore, the door is always open.”
Aguilar-Estrada has his high school transcript, undergraduate transcript, and acceptance letter to MSU Denver’s graduate program all printed and displayed in his office. He tells the students about his whole story and the changes he made throughout his education.
When Aguilar-Estrada graduated from his MBA program in May 2026, both his parents took time off work to attend and brought Aguilar-Estrada’s younger siblings. “There were many tears and hugs,” recalled Aguilar-Estrada. They told him how motivating it has been to watch and learn alongside him, and how grateful they are that his siblings have him as a role model.
Because of the financial relief the scholarship has provided, Aguilar-Estrada said he has been able to have experiences outside of work and school that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise, like traveling and watching a 2026 World Cup game in Missouri.
Today, Aguilar-Estrada is still working at The Denver Scholarship Foundation, continuing to help students pursue their educational dreams.
Ways to engage
The Denver Foundation offers more than 80 different scholarship opportunities thanks to its partnership with dozens of donors and schools. If you’re interested in learning more about creating a scholarship fund or an endowed scholarship fund to honor someone or something in your life, please contact us at 303.300.1790, or email information@denverfoundation.org.
