{"id":1976,"date":"2017-08-28T21:38:58","date_gmt":"2017-08-28T21:38:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1976"},"modified":"2017-08-28T21:38:58","modified_gmt":"2017-08-28T21:38:58","slug":"tstc-graduate-suffers-loss-finds-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1976","title":{"rendered":"TSTC Graduate Suffers Loss, Finds Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – Sughei Castillo was one of nearly 400 students who realized a life-long dream last night during Texas State Technical College\u2019s commencement ceremony at the Harlingen Municipal Auditorium.<\/p>\n

The Lasara native, only the second in her family to graduate from college, earned a certificate in vocational nursing.<\/p>\n

This is a career she was first introduced to in middle school, but was fully inspired to pursue it when she would watch her mother care for her grandfather while he fought a battle with lung cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m drawn to this profession and being able to help someone is so gratifying,\u201d said Castillo.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, my grandfather lost his battle. But the idea of being someone\u2019s comfort and help during their time of need makes everything I do worth it.\u201d\"Sughei<\/a><\/p>\n

Most recently, as close as she was to reaching her goal, a family tragedy almost got in the way.<\/p>\n

A fire destroyed the 23-year-old\u2019s family home a month ago. Her family lost everything and today they have no home to call their own. .<\/p>\n

With only the clothes on her back, Castillo was ready to quit school and find a job to help her family replace what was lost, but with the support from her mother she returned to TSTC the very next day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was devastated. And I didn\u2019t see how I could continue school while my family struggled,\u201d she said. \u201cBut my mother, the woman I aspire to be when I grow up, was searching for a way to replace my uniforms that same day. How could I let her down?\u201d<\/p>\n

Castillo credits her success after the fire to her instructors and classmates who pulled together to collect donations and organize a fundraiser for Castillo and her family.<\/p>\n

TSTC even donated a dorm room so she could make it to her last three weeks of the semester and save the money she would use on gas for her 30-minute drive to class.<\/p>\n

\u201cI entered this program alone, but I\u2019m leaving with a family,\u201d said Castillo. \u201cThey (classmates) donated uniforms, money, toiletries – everything we needed to stand up again. I am so blessed to have these people in my life. God knew why he put them there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castillo is once again looking forward to her future.<\/p>\n

After passing her national licensing exam, Castillo hopes to find employment at Solara Hospital in Harlingen to start saving up for a home for her family and a bachelor\u2019s degree in nursing.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, she hopes to become a nurse practitioner.<\/p>\n

\u201cTSTC and the vocational nursing program have opened doors of opportunities for me,\u201d she said. \u201cAll of the training I have received has prepared me to work, be successful and continue my education. My possibilities now are limitless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castillo\u2019s mother Lidia Castillo said she is so proud of everything her daughter has accomplished and overcome so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so blessed to be her mother,\u201d said Lidia. \u201cI admire her strength to rise, ambition to overcome challenges and her will to move forward. I call her my warrior and will always be here to support her 100 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castillo said although her family\u2019s situation is not ideal, and she wishes she was headed to a home of their own after commencement, she still has a lot to be thankful for.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaterial items come and go. I just thank God that my family is safe, I have them by side and God has blessed us with more than we probably deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 1,000 TSTC students across the state earned certificates or associate degrees during TSTC\u2019s Summer 2017 commencement ceremonies.<\/p>\n

For more information on vocational nursing or TSTC, visit tstc.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – Sughei Castillo was one of nearly 400 students who realized a life-long dream last night during Texas State Technical College\u2019s commencement ceremony at the Harlingen Municipal Auditorium. The Lasara native, only the second in her family to graduate from college, earned a certificate in vocational nursing. This is a career she was first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-harlingen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1976"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1978,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1976\/revisions\/1978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}