On this exciting week of the Kestrel, Evan and I are proud to introduce a new segment called Teacher of the Week. Every week, we will interview members of the Xavier community and post the highlights online. The first teacher of the week is no other than Mrs. Castro who is currently a Spanish teacher at Xavier. Without further delay, here is what we found when interviewing her.

To start off, Mrs. Castro grew up in Santiago de Compostela, Spain with her four brothers and sister. This part of Spain is very Catholic and is home to the shrine of Saint James the Great which is now the city’s cathedral. The myth is that St. James’s remains were taken from Jerusalem by boat into northern Spain where he was buried on the site of the modern day city of Santiago de Compostela.

Growing up, Mrs. Castro attended the University of Santiago de Compostela. After she had moved to the United States she attained her masters at Central Connecticut State University and traveled to the University of Salamanca in Spain as part of her masters. After her college days, Mrs. Castro partook in an internship at the Library of Congress and later she would travel back to Spain and would later come back to the United States. In Spain, Mrs. Castro would meet her husband Kevin.

Mrs. Castro said they moved all over from places such as California, Florida, Hawaii, and now Connecticut.  While looking at different schools for their daughters like St. Johns in Old Saybrook, Mrs. Castro wanted to work in a Catholic preparatory school. Her husband would point out at job opening at Xavier High School which is where she is today. Mrs. Castro now lives with her three daughters Gabriela, Natalia, and Sofia. And to stay in touch with all her relatives in Spain, Mrs. Castro contacts them via Skype every day.