Picture of Mr. Castillo standing outside his classroom (Photo by Jackeline Gomez)
Mr. Castillo has finally made his return to Huntington Park High School after over a decade of absence. Before he left, Mr. Castillo was the I.T. for HPHS. But now he has returned as a computer science teacher. Although this is his first year back, Mr. Castillo has already grown fond of all his students.
“What I most enjoy about teaching, is seeing when they memorize the information I have given them and they could apply it to other classes and their work.”
Before teaching, Mr. Castillo had never seen nor envisioned himself becoming a teacher and teaching. Eventually, when he did start teaching, he came to realize that he enjoyed it. Mr. Castillo has no teaching experience and he has not taught anywhere else prior to his position here at HPHS.
Mr. Castillo had left his job of being an I.T. here at HPHS, to become a special effects artist for Universal Pictures. Although he had enjoyed his time there, once he had come to learn that he could work at his hometown once more, he packed his bags and came back to HPHS.
Mr. Castillo enjoys football very much and many things related to it. Mr. Castillo has also come to learn that he learns just as much from his students as he would from books and classes. Mr. Castillo had always strived for a career in law by becoming a lawyer. Unfortunately, the expenses became far too much for him, and he eventually stopped pursuing that career.
Mr. Castillo spent his entire 11-year absence from school working for Universal Pictures as a special effects artist. Over the years, he rose within the company and eventually had a leading role running the department he had been working in, with 40 staff members working under him.
Mr.Castillo firmly believes that going to school, studying, and working hard is a surefire way to ensure you have a good life when you’re older, and he pushes his students to work hard and do well in school.
“Going to school is definitely something someone needs to do, even if you are going for a short career, you need it to help improve your life and make money.”
Although he has spent over a decade working at Universal Pictures, Mr.Castillo has come to state that he does in fact not miss his work and position there, and finds working with students far more fulfilling. We hope to see Mr.Castillo stay here at HPHS in the long run and have a wonderful time teaching his students who he cares about very much.
Written by Features Editor: Justin Ramirez