Every year, graduates from the College of Letters & Science enter the workforce and begin to contribute thousands of dollars to their local, state, and national economies. They bring the skills and knowledge they gained at UW-Milwaukee to their jobs, along with their ambitions and fresh perspectives.
In this article series, we highlight some of the recent Letters & Science alumni who have found fulfilling roles in their chosen fields.
Name: Jordan Villegas
Major: Urban Studies
Graduation Year: 2020
Job: Homebuyer Coaching Program Manager at ACTS Housing
When he read books as a child, Jordan Villegas took note of all of the admirable professions described in the stories – community helpers like dentists, grocers, mail carriers. He wanted to have one of those jobs.
“I believed being a banker meant helping people navigate their finances and build stability,” he recalls.
As an adult working in banking, Villegas gained valuable insight into how financial institutions operate and the important role they play. He also began to see the limits of traditional banking models when it came to serving people with the greatest need. Too often, the people seeking guidance and opportunity were the ones he couldn’t fully support within that structure.
That realization helped inspire Villegas to pursue a major in urban studies at UWM. Now, as the Homebuyer Coaching Program Manager at Acts Housing, he works alongside financial institutions and community partners to ensure more families can access the guidance and support they need to successfully become homeowners, now through a model built specifically to reach communities that have been excluded from traditional pathways to homeownership.
Villegas is a Milwaukee native and a non-traditional student. He earned an associate’s degree at MATC while working and raising a family, and then used the Panther Tracks program to enroll at UWM. He enjoyed the interdisciplinary classes in the Urban Studies program and especially liked his classes with Teaching Associate Professor Jamie Harris.
When he graduated, Villegas began looking for a job – but not just any job.
“I’ve always had an energy to try and make change for the better in the world, and the UWM Urban Studies program helped me focus that energy,” he said. “For me, (the change was) housing because of the racial wealth gap and all of the social and health determinants that housing affects. You’re more likely to vote (if you’re a homeowner). You’re healthier. You live longer. You’re more educated.
“Once I saw that Acts Housing position open up, it was clear: This is where I want to work.”
Acts Housing is a nonprofit that empowers people to achieve homeownership. The organization accomplishes that goal in several ways. For instance, clients can work with a HUD-certified housing counselor to do an assessment of their finances and plot a financial path to getting a pre-approval for a mortgage. Counselors work alongside clients step by step, offering ongoing coaching tailored to their timeline and goals.
Acts Housing also has an arm called Acts Homes. That branch buys properties in Milwaukee that would otherwise be targeted by investors and works with a construction team to renovate the houses. Then, the organization sells the rehabbed properties to owner occupants, prioritizing the first-time homebuyers in the coaching program. Another arm, Acts Lending, has a loan program to help clients purchase move-in ready and rehab properties..
Villegas started out as a homebuyer coach in 2021 and was promoted to manager within a few years. As a manager, he oversees a team of homebuying coaches, trains new hires, and makes sure his team is educated about all of the local resources that can help their clients. He also helps maintain partnerships between Acts Housing and organizations like the Habitat for Humanity, Milwaukee Community Land Trust, Take Root Milwaukee, and others.
This job is important to Villegas because he’s been on the other side of the desk. When he was a first-time home buyer, he worked with a local program to assist with his down payment, which Villegas credits with inspiring him to give back to others in a similar way.
“This process can try you. Many of the families who come to Acts Housing already face financial barriers. Sometimes life gets in the way,” he said. “It helps to have a coach on your side who’s going to encourage you to get through this tough patch. The coach is there to be a resource for families.”
Villegas learned how to be that resource through his work experience, but the critical thinking, problem-solving, and relationship-building skills he gained in UWM’s Urban Studies program also helped prepare him, he said.
Villegas’ favorite part of the job is seeing a family he’s worked with finally become homeowners. He remembers in particular one family he helped where a single mother of six children was finally able to give her kids their own home.
“Being able to get paid to work with a family for a year-plus, and then see them close on their home, and be able to celebrate with them and give them a gift basket, and make sure they get down payment assistance – that is honestly one of the best feelings,” he said.
By Sarah Vickery, College of Letters & Science