Jose Castro

My name is Jose Castro. My parents brought me from Mexico when I was one year old. My mother, who left her family and medical practice, came to the United States to become a baker. My Father would spend the rest of his years here uneducated and working in construction. Although not born here, I cannot say I am a result of the crossing of a border. I am the result of the tenaciousness, fear, and courage that my parents had when crossing while I slept and waited. My name is Jose Castro, and through the guidance and resilience of my parents I have been able to focus on my education and future. I am a third year psychology and chemistry student that has the goal of medical school in mind. Every time I mention my majors, people always have two reactions. Either they have no clue why I chose such opposing subjects or they think that my choices correlate perfectly with each other. My reasoning behind my choices is as follows: The brain and mind of a person are two very different things. One holds the basic foundations of movement and bodily functions and the other holds the rationalization of thoughts, emotions, ideas, and personality. One helps your body stay alive, the other lets your soul stay alive. My belief is that both the empirical sciences and our soul have to be healthy in order to be a whole rounded person. This is my motivation to not only become a doctor but to become someone that can make a positive influence in the community.

The activities that surround my week consist of AVID tutoring on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the rest of the week I am either working at the office of Pre-Admissions and Tours on campus or at one of the local high schools presenting about the CSU system, and more importantly, how to get to college. Very recently I have also gotten the opportunity to be part of the EEG lab to research brain waves and functions. Through tutoring and presenting I am able to help the next generation get to a higher level of learning. Something that I emphasize with the youth is that to fail is to learn. Through my presentation, I showcase my failures to show that failing exposes areas of improvement and that hard work can get you results.

When I came to Sonoma State, something I found very evident was the lack of diversity in staff within the science departments. Teachers are the foundation for our learning so if there was more diversity within the system it would give more confidence for people, such as myself, to see that there is someone else who has done the things I am aspiring to do. During presentations when asked about parties, I always say that whenever you are around friends it’s always a party. This has been evident through my 5 semesters here. The relationships and memories created through education are unforgettable. In fact, it’s made me more motivated knowing my peers are next to me following their aspirations as well. These bonds are going to make leaving college unbearable.