In the early 2000s, Santos Borges was struggling in high school, making poor decisions, and regularly getting into trouble. He eventually dropped out of high school and wasn’t sure what to do next. That was until his sister told him about the alternative high school she had recently completed. She thought the smaller class sizes and attentive teachers would suit him much better than the traditional public school in their neighborhood. Santos thought it was worth a shot and he enrolled at West Town Academy at Greater West Town Project (GWTP).

Santos thrived in the structured environment and the closeness of the students and staff, saying in an interview for this blog, “[as students] it felt like we were one big family. Everybody knew each other, and we were always able to talk with the teachers.”

After graduating from West Town Academy, Santos had a son and began working as a part-time bank teller at JP Morgan Chase. 18 years later, Santos has remained in the banking industry and is now the Vice President Community Manager at JP Morgan Chase. In this role, Santos is working to increase financial education in Black and Latinx communities around Chicago. “There’s a huge need for financial education in underserved communities across Chicago. And I get to work around the communities where I grew up and talk about credit, becoming a homeowner, and other ways to build wealth,” said Santos. He has also been paying it forward by putting on financial literacy trainings at Greater West Town Project for our participants multiple times per year.

Santos offered some advice to folks thinking of joining GWTP, saying, “Make sure and create a 3-5 year plan and set goals, and the first goal should be to graduate high school!” Santos has been an outstanding example of GWTP’s potential impact in our shared West Side community. “The combination of banking and GWTP has been great for me in my life and I have had a lot of success because of them.” Congratulations on all of your success, Santos!