Erick Castillo graduated from KIPP Houston High School in 2013 and recently completed his first year of college at the University of Texas. Erick’s love and passion for math & science is his driving factor to earn a degree in both mathematics and electrical engineering. “By delving into mathematics and the sciences, and learning the laws by which the universe runs, I am ensuring a future rich in happiness and purpose.”
At first glance Erick seems very quiet and shy but he is actually one of the loudest, proudest, spirit members of the Longhorn Hellraisers. This group at UT is known for both their school spirit and body paint in support of the Longhorn’s athletic teams. In 1988, school spirit at UT was at an all-time low and a group of students decided to create excitement by attending each athletic event and showing extraordinary school spirit, thus founding the Longhorn Hellraisers.
This June, Texas baseball advanced to the College World Series for the 35th time in school history and Erick joined the Hellraisers on a 14 hour road trip to cheer on the team in Omaha, Nebraska. The experience for him was like no other. UT missed the finals by one run but Erick went home with a smile because of his great adventure with fellow UT fans and alums.
Erick is staying in Austin for the summer to take a few classes, including German II, and working at Chipotle to save money for the upcoming school year. Luckily he was able to join us in Houston at our 2014 Hollywood Themed Award Show & Scholarship Celebration. During our program, we handed out awards to each of our Scholars and Erick was presented with the Most Likely to Give Back Award. Erick is very devoted to his family and involved with community service, volunteering for the Houston Food Bank and Austin Food Bank whenever he can find the time.
At KIPP Houston, Erick played varsity football, soccer, and baseball while volunteering and helped his father every Saturday as a welding assistant. He made time to be involved with many of KIPP’s programs including Escalera, Student Government, the Prom Committee and Puzzle Busters. Erick’s AP Calculus Teacher, Thomas Goldsbury at KIPP Houston High School shared his fondness for Erick in a letter, “Erick is a devoted and disciplined student. Aside from his intelligence, one quality that stands out with Erick is his creative thinking, his ability to solve problems.”
Erick relies on his personal experiences and family commitment as motivation to become a successful engineer in the future so he can give back to those who helped him along the way. We are confident he will achieve this goal and continue to make his parents proud for many years to come. Check for Erick on the UT sidelines this year!!