{"id":212744,"date":"2025-05-06T13:57:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T17:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/?p=212744"},"modified":"2025-05-06T13:57:45","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T17:57:45","slug":"montclair-state-university-graduate-angela-castro-champions-community-service-advocacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/2025\/05\/06\/montclair-state-university-graduate-angela-castro-champions-community-service-advocacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Montclair State University Graduate Angela Castro Champions Community Service, Advocacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story is part of a series celebrating Montclair State University\u2019s Spring Commencement 2025<\/a> graduates \u2013 students who embody the University\u2019s mission to broaden access to exceptional learning opportunities and contribute to the common good.<\/em><\/p>\n

Angela Castro, a graduating senior majoring in Child Advocacy and Policy<\/a> with a minor in Social Work<\/a>, is guided by one principle: pay it forward<\/em>. Raised in Paterson, New Jersey, she has spent her college years giving back to the very community that once lifted her up.<\/p>\n

Her favorite place to serve is Oasis<\/a>, a nonprofit that provided her with after-school care and summer programs as a child. Today, she\u2019s on the other side \u2013 mentoring children, serving meals and organizing donations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels natural to go back, to give back to the place that gave me so much,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Real-World Advocacy Experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In fall 2024, Castro interned with the New Destiny Family Success Center<\/a> in Paterson, where she worked in a public school setting to support children and families. Her responsibilities included helping with applications, facilitating ESL courses and nutrition workshops, distributing clothing and hygiene supplies, and running after-school programs for first and second graders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis internship gave me insight on what it truly means to be an advocate for children and their families, ensuring they\u2019re getting the help they need to thrive,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She also lent her time to St. Peter\u2019s Haven in Clifton<\/a>, helping sort and distribute food to families in need, and participated in service activities<\/a> through Montclair\u2019s Latin American Student Organization and the Omega Phi Chi Multicultural Sorority.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s rewarding to know that a small thing you do can change someone\u2019s day \u2013 or even transform who they are,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

At Montclair, her leadership in various campus activities as a commuter student<\/a> inspired a new dream \u2013 a career in higher education.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngela exemplifies what it means to be a servant leader. From her advocacy for commuter students to her volunteer work supporting the homeless and promoting multiculturalism, she has consistently shown a deep commitment to public service,\u201d says Antonio Talamo, assistant director of the Student Center and Commuter Life.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngela uses every opportunity to uplift others, create inclusive spaces, and make a meaningful impact both on campus and in the community,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love helping people become more engaged, find their purpose, and seeing that light bulb go off in their heads,\u201d Castro says. This summer, she\u2019ll begin a master\u2019s in Higher Education at Rowan University.<\/p>\n

Graduation and Gratitude<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""Angela
Angela Castro is turning compassion into a career. After years of giving back to the community that raised her, she\u2019s heading to grad school to support the next generation of students. (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When she walks across the Commencement stage, she\u2019ll wear a message on her graduation cap in Spanish: \u201cCada sacrificio tiene su recompensa\u201d<\/em> \u2013 every sacrifice has its reward.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a reminder that everything I\u2019ve sacrificed and dedicated time, energy and effort to is for a greater purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

The University will celebrate its graduates at Commencement exercises<\/a> on Wednesday, May 7 and Thursday, May 8, 2025, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.<\/em><\/p>\n

Story by Marilyn Joyce Lehren<\/a>, University Communications and Marketing<\/a><\/p>\n

Ready to Start Your Montclair Journey?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Prospective Students and Parents:<\/strong> Learn more about Montclair admissions<\/a>, our College of Humanities and Social Sciences<\/a>, and the Office for Community Engagement and Partnership<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Graduate Spotlight: A first-generation graduate from Paterson, N.J., Angela Castro shares how her roots inspired her mission to uplift others through education and compassion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":212745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,37,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-212744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-7_homepage-news-and-events","category-social-work-and-child-advocacy","category-student-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212744"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212747,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212744\/revisions\/212747"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}