Escalona sees Siloam Springs as jewel of a city in Northwest Arkansas
They say one person’s loss is another person’s gain.
If it hadn’t been for the University of Arkansas not having any spots left on a college visit day for seniors at Rogers High School in early 2019, Daniel Escalona would have never ended up at John Brown University. Thanks to his work at JBU and at the Chamber of Commerce, Siloam Springs is a better place.
In a Spanishlanguage interview in conjunction with La Prensa Libre AR, Escalona, who was born in the U.S. and speaks perfect English, but whose parents came to Arkansas from Mexico City’s western suburbs, said he was a senior at Rogers High School when the course of his life changed.
“At the end of high school, I didn’t know where to go,” Escalona said. “On college visit day, there were no more spots left to visit the University of Arkansas.
I saw that John Brown University was in Siloam Springs and wasn’t too far. I remember driving over on Highway 412 and seeing some nice things. The first person I met at JBU was Marcos Gutiérrez. Right away, I said, ‘I belong here.’”
Gutiérrez is now an admissions counselor at the university.
Escalona went on to co-found Creciendo Juntos with Gutiérrez during his freshman year, he said. Creciendo Juntos is a support group for Latino students at JBU that has grown from six to 100 members in just four years, Escalona said. Escalona graduated last year with a degree in Finance and Economics, he said.
During his senior year at JBU, Escalona began working with
the Siloam Springs Chamber of Commerce as an economic development diversity coordinator, he said.
“Siloam Springs is now 25% Latino, and the Chamber of Commerce wanted to learn how it could help the community,” Escalona said. “So that was my job, walking into Latino businesses and teaching them about grants and different ways in which we could help them to grow.”
While working with the Chamber of Commerce, Escalona said he met a friend and mentor in Arthur Hulbert.
“He’s always looking for ways to help,” Escalona said. “We have a saying in Mexico, ‘se quite el taco de la boca y te lo da,’ whose meaning translates to ‘he would give you the shirt off his back.’ He would ask me, ‘What can we do? How can we attract businesses?’ I told him the Latino community is an ally and a partner.”
After graduating from JBU, Escalona is employed at Eddyline Kayaks in Siloam Springs while he works on his dream project, founding the nonprofit “Hoy por Mí, Mañana por Ti“(“Today for Me, Tomorrow for You”) to continue helping the Latino community in Northwest Arkansas through a college scholarship fund for first-generation Latino college students like him.
The scholarship fund will be run differently from most with a large portion of the funding being provided by the community itself, bottom-up, through cash donations. Of course, Escalona will also be open to larger private or corporate donors, and he said he hopes to make a public announcement around midJuly.
Escalona thoroughly enjoys Siloam Springs, a city that has won his heart.
“Siloam Springs is a jewel of a city in Northwest Arkansas,” Escalona concluded. “Most people just pass through on 412 on their way to Tulsa but downtown Siloam Springs is beautiful and there are some good restaurants.
“Through my work with the Chamber of Commerce, I feel like Siloam Springs has a small-town vibe; it feels like family. Siloam Springs has done much for its Hispanic community, including the Hispanic Heritage Festival. The Chamber of Commerce has helped Latino businesses connect with local government and the city of Siloam Springs really helps businesses to grow. There are opportunities if you work hard. ‘¡Sí se puede!’”