聚焦系列:博士. 拉斐尔·卡斯蒂略

As one of the founding faculty members of 帕洛阿尔托学院, it's no surprise that Dr. 拉斐尔·卡斯蒂略, 英语和人文学科教授, has built quite a reputation for himself over the last 30 years. From sitting on editorial boards and having his work appear in various publications, 积累了许多奖项和成就, 卡斯蒂略有相当的履历.

In August, Castillo will be able to add another notch onto his belt of accomplishments. “奇卡诺文学”, 卡斯蒂略写的参考书目论文, 将由牛津大学出版社出版, the world's largest university press which publishes high-quality academic and educational resources across the globe.

"It's about the origins of Chicano literature which goes back to the 1960s and how the literature evolved from the United Farm Workers movement,卡斯蒂略说.

Castillo worked with Oxford prior to this recent essay as an editorial reader back in 2007, 是什么导致了他最近的任务. 这一次, 工作量比以前大得多, requiring 150 citations – the equivalent of two Ph.D. 根据卡斯蒂略的说法.

"I thought, 'Oxford, wow, that's the big time,'卡斯蒂略说. “有很多工作要做. I finished my draft in three months and sent it in, but didn't hear anything for about six months so I figured they canned it.

"They finally contacted me shorty after and apologized for the delay. They told me my copy was clean and I only had a few citation mistakes, 冒号放错位置, 愚蠢的小事."

Although Castillo has many recognitions to be proud of, he rarely boasts about his accomplishments with his students. It isn't unusual for some of his students to approach him after finding one of his articles online or his personal Wikipedia page.

“当我教这学期的第一节课的时候, I tell my students I'm only going to talk about myself one time,卡斯蒂略说. “这是他们的事，不是我的事. 这是关于学习材料."

While physical awards are nice – and Castillo has many scattered across the walls of his office – he says one of the most rewarding experiences has been the success of his former students. Many have reached out to Castillo for advice or to edit some of their work. Some have even ventured into writing their own books.

“曾经有学生进来对我说，‘博士. Castillo, I'm thinking of writing a book, but I'm not sure if it's good or not,'卡斯蒂略说. “我告诉他们停止思考，开始行动. They're two separate things; I tell them to come back when they have something. 我去过他们的签售会."

Castillo's love for writing and the challenge that came with working with such a prestigious publication like Oxford is what pushed him to pursue writing the “奇卡诺文学” essay. That same love and passion runs deep and bleeds into his classes at 帕洛阿尔托学院. The challenge of educating the students at the 大学 is one of many reasons he's stuck around all these years, 曾经拒绝过工作邀请.

"I believe there is so much untapped potential in our students and it's a wonderful thing when we can harness it and see the students grow,卡斯蒂略说. "If I were to take a job at a four-year university... some of those students have already tapped into their potential and then the job becomes too easy."

During his tenure at the 大学, Castillo has seen it grow from its early embryonic beginnings.
Watching the college grow from 10 students in a class to 30 was "really magnanimous" to Castillo because it proved that the South Side had the potential to grow. Classes were tiny when the 大学 opened in 1985, and he's seen students come and go over the years. He says some of his former students have even come back and now work at the 大学.

"It really makes me feel proud that you get a chance to see your skills being developed in others and they become true to themselves,卡斯蒂略说. "If you're a good teacher, not only will these students fly, but hopefully they surpass you. My love is writing and I've tried to imbue this love into my students."