MY STORY
My complete story
My complete story
Someone showed me what was possible before I could see it myself. Now I do the same for families in Yuma's farm community.
Someone showed me what was possible before I could see it myself. Now I do the same for families in Yuma's farm community.
I grew up believing a home was not for families like ours.
I grew up believing a home was not for families like ours.
When I was young and we talked about buying a home, my father always said the same thing: it was too much money. Too much debt. He would ask us to imagine how many years it would take to pay it off. Most of the time, he would just say it was not possible. He was not wrong to be afraid. My Dad grew up lacking basic life necessities, and to him, owing no one anything was its own kind of freedom. He did not know a single person who had bought a home before, he did not speak English, and there was no one to show him how. The money was a real reason — but underneath it all, was something quieter: he simply had no one to guide him.
When I was young and we talked about buying a home, my father always said the same thing: it was too much money. Too much debt. He would ask us to imagine how many years it would take to pay it off. Most of the time, he would just say it was not possible. He was not wrong to be afraid. My Dad grew up lacking basic life necessities, and to him, owing no one anything was its own kind of freedom. He did not know a single person who had bought a home before, he did not speak English, and there was no one to show him how. The money was a real reason — but underneath it all, was something quieter: he simply had no one to guide him.
My family immigrated to Yuma Arizona, from San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico, when I was ten years old. Moving to Yuma felt like landing on another planet. In Mexico, I had been at the top of my class, and on my first day of school in the US, a girl asked me my name — and I had no idea what she was saying. I just stood there. I remember watching her mouth, trying to understand, and after the third time she asked, she turned to her friends and said, “Oh my god — he doesn’t know his name”. Becoming fluent in English was hard, but I have always enjoyed a challenge. A teacher told me the best thing to do was to watch TV in English, and whenever I caught a word, to look it up in the dictionary. So that is exactly what I did, and within a year and a half, I moved from English as a Second Language (ESL) into regular classes.
We had lived a comfortable life in Mexico, and when we moved to Yuma, all five of us — my parents, my two sisters, and me — lived in an old two-bedroom mobile home. My parents had the master bedroom, and my two sisters had the second room, so I had to sleep in the living room. Every morning I folded up my “bed”; so everyone could use the couch. I have very vivid memories of living in that trailer, it would be freezing in the winter, and it was like an oven in the summer. For a long time, all I could see was the better life we left behind in Mexico — it took me years to understand why my father had brought us to Yuma. What I learned was simple: there are no shortcuts to success. You must work hard until you reach your goals.
We had lived a comfortable life in Mexico, and when we moved to Yuma, all five of us — my parents, my two sisters, and me — lived in an old two-bedroom mobile home. My parents had the master bedroom, and my two sisters had the second room, so I had to sleep in the living room. Every morning I folded up my “bed”; so everyone could use the couch. I have very vivid memories of living in that trailer, it would be freezing in the winter, and it was like an oven in the summer. For a long time, all I could see was the better life we left behind in Mexico — it took me years to understand why my father had brought us to Yuma. What I learned was simple: there are no shortcuts to success. You must work hard until you reach your goals.
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the University of Arizona, but getting took a lot of hard work, dedication, and blessings from above. My first semester in Tucson was the hardest, I missed home, I was short on money, and I felt alone. At the end of the first semester, I did not have enough money to pay for my rent. I learned at that moment how much my father’s fears had been engrained deep in my brain. I felt that I could not ask for an extension on my rent, I felt I would be a failure if I got in debt with my landlord. I remember sitting on the steps of the Forbes Building at the University of Arizona, and I remember telling myself: well, Jesús, you tried, you did your best, and it is now time to go home. A counselor named Frank Santiago was walking by and he stopped to talk to me, and the first thing he asked me was “what is wrong”. I was too embarrassed to tell him I had no money to pay my rent, so I told him everything was fine. But he insisted, “You are always smiling, something is wrong”. And on the third time he asked, I told him the truth — that I couldn’t afford to stay in Tucson, and I was going back to Yuma. I thought: if my parents cannot help me financially, why would a stranger help me?
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the University of Arizona, but getting took a lot of hard work, dedication, and blessings from above. My first semester in Tucson was the hardest, I missed home, I was short on money, and I felt alone. At the end of the first semester, I did not have enough money to pay for my rent. I learned at that moment how much my father’s fears had been engrained deep in my brain. I felt that I could not ask for an extension on my rent, I felt I would be a failure if I got in debt with my landlord. I remember sitting on the steps of the Forbes Building at the University of Arizona, and I remember telling myself: well, Jesús, you tried, you did your best, and it is now time to go home. A counselor named Frank Santiago was walking by and he stopped to talk to me, and the first thing he asked me was “what is wrong”. I was too embarrassed to tell him I had no money to pay my rent, so I told him everything was fine. But he insisted, “You are always smiling, something is wrong”. And on the third time he asked, I told him the truth — that I couldn’t afford to stay in Tucson, and I was going back to Yuma. I thought: if my parents cannot help me financially, why would a stranger help me?
He told me to come by his office in a couple of hours, and when I got there, he had a check waiting for me — for exactly the amount I needed to pay my rent. The following week I found a job at the University farm. On my second semester, I earned scholarships that carried me the rest of the way, and I graduated with zero debt. I still keep in touch with Frank every now and then. I will be grateful to him for the rest of my life. He didn’t just give me money — he believed in me, more than I believed in myself. Thanks to that check, I completed my bachelor’s degree in Crop Production with an emphasis in Agronomy. Last May 2025, I earned my masters of science degree, also from the University of Arizona, in Agricultural Education.
He told me to come by his office in a couple of hours, and when I got there, he had a check waiting for me — for exactly the amount I needed to pay my rent. The following week I found a job at the University farm. On my second semester, I earned scholarships that carried me the rest of the way, and I graduated with zero debt. I still keep in touch with Frank every now and then. I will be grateful to him for the rest of my life. He didn’t just give me money — he believed in me, more than I believed in myself. Thanks to that check, I completed my bachelor’s degree in Crop Production with an emphasis in Agronomy. Last May 2025, I earned my masters of science degree, also from the University of Arizona, in Agricultural Education.
My education opened many doors, and I was able to start a successful career in Agriculture. I bought my first home at twenty-four, two years after I graduated. When I walked in my house for the first time, I felt proud — and, honestly, still a little afraid. I thought about my father. My dad only made it to the second grade. He spent 5 years and paid two different lawyers, signing documents he could not read, just hoping someone would help our family get our green cards. Now I understand his fear. And I know in my heart that walking into that home made my dad proud, because all his sacrifices were worth it, he wanted a better life for me and my two sisters, and he accomplished that.
My education opened many doors, and I was able to start a successful career in Agriculture. I bought my first home at twenty-four, two years after I graduated. When I walked in my house for the first time, I felt proud — and, honestly, still a little afraid. I thought about my father. My dad only made it to the second grade. He spent 5 years and paid two different lawyers, signing documents he could not read, just hoping someone would help our family get our green cards. Now I understand his fear. And I know in my heart that walking into that home made my dad proud, because all his sacrifices were worth it, he wanted a better life for me and my two sisters, and he accomplished that.
I didn’t come from money or connections. I came from that mobile home and a father who was too afraid of debt to believe a home was possible for a family like ours. He wasn’t wrong to be careful. He was just never shown what was possible.
That is why I became a real estate agent. I work with families throughout the Yuma area. I try to do for them what Frank did for me: show them what is possible before they can see it for themselves. I started the Jesús Andrade Scholarship 11 years ago to help students in need at Arizona Western College and the University of Arizona, because someone did that for me. It changed my life.
That is why I became a real estate agent. I work with families throughout the Yuma area. I try to do for them what Frank did for me: show them what is possible before they can see it for themselves. I started the Jesús Andrade Scholarship 11 years ago to help students in need at Arizona Western College and the University of Arizona, because someone did that for me. It changed my life.
Your home is closer than you think.
Your home is closer than you think.
