Joel was born and raised in San Salvador, El Salvador. He migrated to the United States at the age of fifteen and immediately after, he went to high school. He graduated from Spring Woods High School which is located in the Spring Branch area. Then, he started attending Lone Star College-CyFair where he studied English for three semesters to improve his language skills. After completing the English requirements, he pursued and Associate of Science and Associate of Arts with a business core. When the two associates were completed, he transferred to the University of Houston-Downtown where he is currently finishing a bachelor's degree in Accounting.

While completing the two associates at Lone Star College-CyFair, he was also working at the Tutoring Center, managing the help desk. After a few semesters working at the tutoring center, he moved to the Language Labs, which now is part of the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC). “My experience there is exciting because I get to work with faculty and students from different cultures, at the same time I gain experience in my work field.”