By Jeff Sanchez | MARCH 2, 2023
From an early age, Connie Castillo felt the odds stacking against her. She had her first child when she was 15 years old, and the naysayers made their opinions known — the best future she could hope for was finding someone who would take care of her. “I heard a lot of negativities. I was told that I was never going to achieve anything or amount to anything. My life was over, and I might as well get married now.” But Connie didn’t let the negativity take root. Instead, she held on to her belief that, “you play the hand you are given and use it to your advantage,” and imagined the future she would shape for herself.
As a single mom at age 15, Connie knew she had to figure some things out if she was going to provide a stable home for her child. She was resourceful and motivated. As a single mother, she was able to find resources to finish high school earlier, she entered the Alternative Education Program for her local high school and achieved additional credits by testing out of courses, achieving her goal of completing high school in three years vs the traditional four, and in the top 10 of her class. On the day of her graduation, she learned she was pregnant with her second child and faced the bigger challenge of raising two kids. She lined up government resources and found entry-level jobs, which was just enough to secure an apartment and scrape out a living for herself and her kids. But she didn’t want to just scrape by. Her vision for the future included buying her own house and car. If she wanted that, she knew what it would take. “I knew that if I was going to move forward in my life, if I was going to be able to provide for my kids the life that they deserved, then education was the key.”
Once again, the odds were against her, and once again she would not be stopped. She went hunting for resources and managed to find enough help to start at Austin Community College (ACC) pursuing a degree as a Dental Hygienist. “At first, I had FAFSA, food stamps, TANF. I survived off government aid. The bare minimum. I worked part-time every now and then to make a little extra cash.” She had goals. She had the drive. She even had the grades to get into the highly competitive dental hygiene program. Things were going great, but unfortunately, government aid has its limits. “I’d finished all of my prerequisite courses, and just as I was applying for the Dental Hygiene program, I lost all my benefits.”
As her semester (and possibly her entire college journey) came to a close, Connie walked into the cafeteria at the Eastview campus and spotted a table advertising free college. She went over and picked up a flyer for a special event which she attended. “I took my kids because I thought it was going to be an orientation and we were just going to be sitting and listening to someone tell us about the program. The conference room was packed, and then I noticed they were doing interviews on the spot! And I was like, oh my god, had I known I would not have brought my kids because this isn’t how I would present myself in an interview.”
By now she had her third child, and with a toddler on her knee and a five- and three-year-old playing on the floor, she sat down for an initial interview. “I am thankful that as a 20-year-old with three kids, I wasn’t judged. Capital IDEA didn’t hold that against me. They listened to me. They listened to my goals and my plans. They could tell from the start that I was a go-getter, regardless of my situation, or regardless of the cards I had been dealt.”
Connie was accepted into the Career Expressway program. “Capital IDEA came into my life during a difficult time. It helped me finish. They helped me apply for the childcare assistance program, CCMS, and helped me find assistance to pay bills.” Yet, while it was the financial assistance that drew Connie to Capital IDEA, ultimately, it was her Career Navigator that meant the most to her. “I never felt like I was just another person or just a number. I never felt like I was just someone who had to get pushed through the program. I was genuinely treated as a human. As someone with struggles, my Navigator helped me, guided me, counseled me, and talked to me when I had stressors.”
Connie graduated from ACC with an Associate of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene in 2009, and accepted a job offer from Texas Smiles in South Austin. With a degree and a new career, she’d already surpassed the naysayers’ expectations. But she wasn’t finished.
Eight years into her dental hygiene career, Connie joined the Army Reserves. In 2020, she was deployed for a year to the Middle East where she served her country proudly. She was given the responsibility of keeping up her unit’s morale. This meant she was responsible for organizing events and activities to keep her unit’s spirits up during their deployment. She did such an outstanding job she was awarded the Army Achievement Medal for Leadership. She’d already learned to envision and shape her own future, now she knew she could also play a role in shaping her surroundings. She wanted to do more of that, and when her deployment was over, that desire and her leadership skills came with her, ready to be applied.
Connie graduated from ACC with an Associate of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene in 2009, and accepted a job offer from Texas Smiles in South Austin. With a degree and a new career, she’d already surpassed the naysayers’ expectations. But she wasn’t finished.
Eight years into her dental hygiene career, Connie joined the Army Reserves. In 2020, she was deployed for a year to the Middle East where she served her country proudly. She was given the responsibility of keeping up her unit’s morale. This meant she was responsible for organizing events and activities to keep her unit’s spirits up during their deployment. She did such an outstanding job she was awarded the Army Achievement Medal for Leadership. She’d already learned to envision and shape her own future, now she knew she could also play a role in shaping her surroundings. She wanted to do more of that, and when her deployment was over, that desire and her leadership skills came with her, ready to be applied.
As a dental hygienist, Connie had long been aware of a problem. “There was always a big disconnect between dentists and Spanish-speaking patients or patient’s parents if the dentist only spoke English.” Connie felt that the most direct way she could help fill this gap was to become a dentist herself. Thanks to her G.I. Bill she was able to start right away. She enrolled at Texas State and is now only a few months away from finishing her bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences. After that, she’ll tackle dental school and earn the advanced degree required to start her own practice.
Outside of her career field, Connie has adopted several community causes and applied her leadership skills there, too. For years, she’s been a passionate advocate for Capital IDEA by sharing her story with Hays County officials and with City of Kyle officials, to support petitions for funding. She’s also mentored Capital IDEA alumni in Kyle developing leaders who can support each other and their community. Connie also serves as the Sponsorship Director with Ancora Ministries, an organization that provides food to children in need both locally in Kyle and in Guatemala. Whenever Connie sees an opportunity to shape a better future, she’s all in.
Connie’s drive to do more, and her passion to help others shows up in everything she does. Yet, of all her achievements, Connie is most proud of what she has been able to accomplish for her children. She eventually bought a car, and a beautiful home in Kyle where she raised her kids. She continues to emphasize the importance of education in their lives. “Can you believe it? This teenage mom has already gotten two of her four kids to become self-sufficient and two into higher education! And my third oldest is starting at UTSA in the Cybersecurity program in the fall of 2023. I have always told them education is a door opener for bigger things in life.” And her kids are extremely proud of her too. She recalls her son joining her at a City Council meeting where she spoke on behalf of Capital IDEA. “He was so excited he recorded it, and said, ‘Mom, I didn’t know you were going to speak in front of everybody. That was cool!’ To see him light up like that made me feel so happy to know my kids are proud of what I do and the things that I’ve achieved.”
Throughout her life, Connie’s display of leadership is evident. With the odds stacked against her as a single mom at age 15, her resourcefulness and drive helped her shape a better future for herself and her children by achieving things that once seemed out of reach, and now she is using those same qualities to lead others. Her outstanding leadership efforts with the Capital IDEA Alumni Network, the Army Reserves, and Ancora Ministries are fueled by her belief that, as a leader, she has the responsibility to help the people around her reach their full potential. “For me leadership is the ability to build leaders yourself, to help others grow, help expand their minds, and to show people who they are. A leader to me is someone willing to grow the people around them.”
And how does she do that? She starts by sharing the core belief that’s kept her motivated since she was 15 that to achieve your goals, you must choose to work with the cards you were dealt. She reminds single parents that, “You are a role model whether you want to be or not. Don’t allow something like being a single parent to hold you back. There are programs out there to help you, so use what you’ve got.” And she encourages Capital IDEA students too. “See worth in yourself. If someone else is willing to bet on you, and they don’t even know you, then why can’t you? Capital IDEA was willing to bet on me and they only interviewed me for 20 minutes. If someone else could see in me that there was something there and allowed me in this program, why would I not bet on myself that I can do it?” That’s advice that we can all take to heart.
In March of 2023, Capital IDEA proudly awarded Connie the Mark Melliar-Smith Award in recognition of the incredible leadership qualities she continues to display in her community. View photos from the event: Facebook » | Dropbox »
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