Juan Flores (he/him/el)
Student Success and Community Initiatives coordinator
Office of Cultural & Academic Transitions (OCAT)
Student Life & Engagement
(floresj2@msu.edu)
Juan Flores Grew up in Southwest Detroit and credits his success to his upbringing in Detroit. He is extremely grateful for the circumstances, times, places and environments that surrounded his young and adolescent year because without those experiences he would not be the person he is today. He is the oldest of ten siblings and was the first in his family to graduate from high school. Juan was an average student who had no plans to attend college but by pure coincidence during the fall of his senior year, he met Lucinda Briones, a recruiter for Michigan State University who inspired him to apply. Lucinda’s message was so profound that it ended up altering the course of his life. Juan was admitted to Michigan State University and went on to earn a bachelor’s and a master’s Degree.
Throughout his undergraduate and graduate experience at Michigan State University Juan was heavily involved in leadership and extracurricular activities that benefited the campus community. These experiences later led to the realization that his calling was to work in higher education. His passion for helping students feel a sense of belonging and navigate campus resources landed him his first job as an Academic Advisor for the College of Natural Science. Two years later Juan accepted a Coordinator position in the Division of Student Affairs and Services Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions (OCAT). Accepting the job at OCAT was a way to give back for all the assistance and leadership opportunities he received from the office during his undergraduate experience.
Working at OCAT has provided Juan numerous opportunities to enhance the student experience. In his OCAT role, Juan serves as a coordinator in many Student Success Initiatives. i.e., Intercultural Aide Program, Maximizing Academic Growth in College Summer Bridge/ Transition program, Annual Día de la Mujer Conference, Latinx Student Mentoring program, Annual Thanksgiving Day Fellowship Dinner, Leadership Institute, and Advisor to Council of Racial & Ethnic Students (CORES) group Culturas de las Raza Unidas (C.R.U.) Latinx Student Organization. Additionally, Juan appreciates the opportunity to have served as a Co-Director of the International Engagement in Mexico (IEM) Education Abroad program that is one of the largest most diverse programs offered at MSU. Juan is an advocate of experiential learning and has served as an Instructor for IEM since 2012.
Aside from being committed to helping students thrive, Juan values spending time with his wife and two amazing children. He enjoys sharing his experiences of how he has used his culture and identities to heal himself within his journey through life to motivate and inspire people to live their dream. Juan acknowledges that life is learning and there will always be something new to learn. His hobbies are fluid and can change any day but currently include mentoring, volunteering, traveling, DJ’ing, playing basketball, biking, crafts, speaking Spanish, and collecting homies para and low rider die cast cars.