Alumni | FeaturedOctober 04, 2024

Hispanic Heritage Month Feels Like Home for Cristina Castorena

Written By: Ian Silvester

For Cristina Castorena, Hispanic Heritage Month is more than celebrating independence, history, and culture. It’s a time, she said, when she finally feels at home.

“It’s about bringing a little piece of home into a part of my life that is American.”

Castorena was born in East Los Angeles, California, before moving to Fort Smith when she was five. She grew up in Arkansas but often traveled to California and General Pánfilo Natera in Zacatecas, Mexico – in the country's north-central region. The experience, she said, helped shape who she is and find her identity as a Mexican American.

“It was navigating two different worlds and the personalities that developed with those two areas of yourself,” she explained. “In America, I played basketball in high school or was very involved in student things. Mexico was more family-oriented. I hung out with my grandparents and learned how to cook or would work in their bakery. It was a little bit more liberating because my parents knew the language there, they knew the surroundings, and there was a bit more freedom there.”

In Arkansas, Castorena found herself helping her parents more than some of her peers, even at a young age. At six, she translated documents; by seven, she would accompany her parents, acting as their translator. As she reflected on her childhood, Castorena said it helped her learn how to be comfortable in different situations.

“It forces you to grow up fast,” she said.

Castorena works at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith in a leadership role as the assistant director for financial aid client services. She credits her childhood with staying calm under pressure.

“People wonder how I can be so comfortable in a situation. Well, I had to figure it out. That’s what you had to do; that’s what happens with immigrant parents,” she said.

At UAFS, she has found a way to help students who are also first-generation Americans.

“When I was a student here, there were times when I felt like there wasn’t a lot of representation. It’s important for me to spend my time helping and doing the best I can to assist in expanding our footprint for our Hispanic students because, in this position, I realized that there were a lot of DACA students who were not eligible for scholarships. I want to make sure that UAFS is seen as the one contributing.”

In 2021, as UAFS looked to expand Hispanic Heritage Month, Castorena was approached to chair the committee.

“As a true Hispanic Latina woman, I took full force and decided to go for it,” she said proudly.

The month-long celebration has grown in popularity and size over the past three years since Castorena led the way. This year, she has taken a step back and is proud of the leadership that new chair Catherine Gonzáles has brought to the committee. Castorena continues to serve as the marketing and scholarships manager of the Hispanic Heritage Month Planning Committee.

“I saw it as an opportunity for others to experience it so that the next person can build it better, and we can continue to make the most impact.”

The 30 days between September 15 and October 15 are the most liberating for Castorena every year.

“I am Mexican American, but I am fully engrossed in the American culture. This month allows me to connect both aspects of who I am into one.

“Behind the passion you see, there is a purpose to remind people of my family's legacy and that everything is done to make sure that I leave a little bit of me, my culture, and who I am, everywhere I go,” she said.

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