Andrea Castellano was diagnosed six years ago with type 1 diabetes.
She was 12 years old. Frightened and feeling sick, Castellano was rushed to the intensive care unit at St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe.
“At that point, I didn’t know what was going on,” Castellano said. “I was so scared because I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t understand what I had done to deserve this.”
That night, Don Christy, director of the Pojoaque Pueblo Boys and Girls Club, assembled a group of Club members. Armed with flowers, balloons and a big get-well-soon card, they all went to visit Castellano, a Club member for two years.
“Them being there for me made me realize they cared,” Castellano said. “They gave me the moral support and the strength to continue and not give up right then and there. They made me realize I was going to be OK, this was just a little bump in the road and I could take this challenge on.”
Castellano, now 18 and a San Pedro resident, has not only remained a member of the Club but has become an employee and one of its leaders — such an outstanding one that earlier this month she was named the Boys and Girls Clubs of America’s Youth of the Year for the entire state.
“Andrea’s an exceptional young lady, well-deserving of the honor,” Christy said. “And she continues to go above and beyond. She’s just a really nice kid. What else can I say?”
Castellano carries a 3.4 grade point average. She is the student body treasurer and a member of the National Honor Society, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America and Avid Tutoring. She is also the secretary of the Kachina Keystone Club, a community service organization.
Castellano said the award was given based on a set of essays, interviews and a speech she delivered first to local judges in February, then again in early March to judges from around the state.
The focus of her speech was how the Club has become like an extended family to Castellano.
“The Club is like my second home,” Castellano said. “The kids are like brothers and sisters to me, the staff are like brothers and sisters. It’s like a big family. They support you through your struggles, you laugh, learn and cry together.”
After graduating from Pojoaque High School this spring, Castellano plans to attend New Mexico State University to study to become a nurse.
“Me being a diabetic I know a lot about it, so I want to give back,” she said. “I feel like it’s time for me to pay it forward to help newly diagnosed kids, because kids are diagnosed with diabetes every day.”
For winning the award, Castellano received scholarship money and a laptop computer. She will compete in the Club’s southwest regional conference in May, delivering her speech to thousands from the floor of the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Texas. If she wins there, she’ll go to Washington, D.C., for a national competition and to the White House to meet the president.
“I’m confident, and I’m pretty excited,” Castellano said. “Either way I’ve made it very far.”
Repeat Winner
Desiree Garcia, 13, of Arroyo Seco, joined Castellano in receiving statewide honors from the Club. Garcia, a Pojoaque Middle School eighth-grader, was named the Club’s 2010 Junior Youth of the Year for the second consecutive year.
Garcia said she joined the Club at age 6 at her mother’s urging.
“I was very shy and very nervous,” Garcia said. “I almost never talked. But the Club, especially the staff there, helped me grow past that.”
Garcia, who has now worked at the Club for three years, said those memories are never far away.
“When I see kids like that, who maybe are having hard times or hard lives, I try to help them break out of their shell,” Garcia said.
Garcia carries a 3.8 grade point average. She is a member of the chess and yearbook clubs and is vice president of the Kachina Keystone Club. She has participated in numerous programs and projects including the Race Against Drugs, StarRunners, the Power Hour after-school tutoring program and a diabetes awareness program.
The Club’s competition for youths 13 and under only goes up to the state level, but Garcia said she’s excited to compete in the higher age group next year and possibly advance to the national competition.
“These (competitions) are very intimidating at first, but winning last year gave me the confidence to know I can do this,” Garcia said.
Christy said Garcia has every reason to be confident.
“Desiree’s just as bright and charismatic as Andrea,” Christy said. “Only being 13 years old, she’s already been a Keystone Club member since age 12 and a junior staff member as a 9-year-old — that’s how grown up she is. She knows what it is to give back to the community.”