Story #17: Jose Magaña’s Experiences at PBHA as a First Generation Student

“I attribute all my success post-Harvard to everything that I learned at PBHA. I attribute some of my closest friends from college to PBHA,” Jose Magaña ’15 said. 

Jose was deeply involved in nearly every aspect of PBHA, volunteering afterschool, working at PBHA’s Summer Urban Program (SUP), supervising a homeless shelter, and even working as an officer. For eight years following graduation, Jose has worked at the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, preparing Hispanic youth for future professional life. 

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Jose was sitting in his Stoughton Hall dorm with his roommate when he heard loud music coming from outside. They peered out the window and saw crowds of people gathering in front of an unfamiliar building. 

The event was an Open House — when program directors present their clubs and recruit prospective volunteers. The building was the Phillips Brooks House — where Jose would spend countless hours over the next four years in. 

Jose initially joined Boston Refugee Youth Enrichment, volunteering afterschool. Coming into Harvard, Jose had “no game plan” and “no sort of strategy.” As a first-generation student, Jose had his plate full battling with imposter syndrome. But, Jose’s involvement with BRYE showed him that his college experience could be different. 

“I will call it, at the time, just surviving Harvard,” he said. “I call it one of my biggest lucky moments at Harvard, being placed in Stoughton and finding out about PBHA pretty much from my first week by pure coincidence.” 

“At the time, it was just like a club to join. I had no idea it would become such a big part of my Harvard experience,” he said.

After completing his first year, Jose joined several other PBHA programs. 

“BRYE was simply the beginning. It was the first set of doors that introduced me to the amazing people, staff, and communities with PBHA,” Jose said. 

Jose would go on to become a director for BRYE sophomore year, work at PBHA’s Summer Urban Program (SUP) for all four years, supervise at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter, and serve as Afterschool Program Group Officer and PBHA President. 

Through PBHA, Jose underwent a series of transformational experiences and developed meaningful relationships. 

Jose’s first time directing SUP was “one of the most impactful summers of my life” with several opportunities to grow professionally and personally. Even now, Jose speaks with awe of the program for entrusting his twenty-year-old self with the safety and wellbeing of an entire SUP camp. As a director, Jose was responsible for hiring, supervising, managing relationships with parents and schools, coordinating field trip logistics, fundraising, and presenting grant proposals. 

Though directing could be overwhelming at times, reflecting back ten years later, it “opened the doors to so many skill sets that I eventually needed to have or refine in my career post-Harvard,” he said. 

As a newly elected PBHA President, Jose reached out to several past presidents to better understand the “daunting” title and “responsibility to carry on the torch of student leadership.” As President, Jose guided several “tough conversations” and encouraged PBHA to take “leaps of faith.” 

PBHA was also a safe space for Jose to be himself and make genuine friendships. The reason why Jose stayed with PBHA was because of “the people,” the welcoming environment, and how he could be himself and simultaneously “be vulnerable to grow,” Jose said. 

Jose found his post-graduate job through PBHA connections. As a student, Jose had pitched to Fidel A. Vargas, the President and CEO of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund — who was also a PBHA Vice President —, why PBHA needed his support. When searching for jobs, Jose reached out and “the rest is history.”

Jose has spent eight years at the Hispanic Scholarship Fund helping out in programming, fundraising, and operations. With each new job, Jose drew on lessons he had learned from his time with PBHA.

“Of course I continued to grow post-PBHA, but a lot of that foundation came from my experience at PBHA,” he said. 

Now, Jose is about to start his MBA program at Yale University, excited to be back in a classroom and to eventually leverage his MBA to lead social impact or a national nonprofit, with a focus on educational equity.

Jose concluded our interview with a “huge thank you” to all the professional staff at PBHA and a smile. 

Written by Darcy Lin '27