After working at De Anza College for 35 years, financial aid director Cindy Castillo is retiring this March.

Castillo arrived at De Anza in 1977, landing a job partly thanks to Spanish-language skills which allowed her to assist the many Chilean refugees arriving in the Silicon Valley following Augosto Pinochet’s coup in Chile.

“One of the things that’s been so fascinating about working in financial aid is that the world kind of comes to you,” Castillo said.

She and her staff assist refugees from different backgrounds, but all with the goal of starting an educational path at De Anza. She even helped her former husband and his siblings immigrate to the U.S. from Mexico. Their family attended school at De Anza and two siblings currently work at the college.

“I’m so proud of their efforts to move to a new country and find their way in a new culture, while preserving their own,” she said. “There is nothing better than sharing what we have here.”

Marrying an immigrant gave Castillo insight into the challenges faced by immigrants. She said it is important to realize that American society is set up very differently from countries many immigrants come from.

Some examples she gave were attitudes towards women and distrust of financial institutions. Castillo has seen men trying to sign financial papers for their wives and people cashing their financial aid checks and putting the money underneath their mattress.

Castillo said that in her experience, most people would like to stay in their home countries but have been forced to leave for political and economic reasons. She disagrees with anti-immigrant rhetoric she sometimes hears.

“I have a more welcoming (attitude) to students coming from other places,” Castillo said.

After retirement, she plans on staying involved in education through volunteer work. The Fremont High School District has asked her to help with English as a Second Language students, and she will also be part of an interview panel next month for the University of California Santa Cruz’s Pister Scholarship, awarded to 13 community college students who demonstrate leadership.

Castillo recalled the amusing memories of the days when one week out of every month half the financial aid staff would hand-write every check, “spelling each student’s name and the amount in both numbers and words.”

Today everything, including checks, applications and award letters, is done electronically. Castillo said that electronic communication has also led to many more former students keeping touch with the financial office whether to say “hello” or to give an update on their personal lives.

“Education is absolutely critical for our community,” Castillo said. She added that she is very proud to help educate people and enable their participation in society.

If it were up to Castillo, the U.S. Department of Education would send a letter to families who filed income tax, informing them that “from the first year they claim their child on their income tax return, their government will help them pay for a college education” as long as the family and student ensures a high school graduation.

Although she enjoyed her days in the financial aid department, after years of work that included 12-hour days, Castillo, 59, is looking forward to retirement.

The first thing on her list is a cross-country road trip with her 83-year-old father. They’ll drive to Florida, stopping on the way in Texas to visit a friend.

She’ll also be dedicating time to Jazzercise classes, reading and spending time with friends and family.

She advises aspiring leaders to not be afraid to share their ideas, and “to find a place of integrity, truth and passion about something you can contribute to that will move our society forward and better the lives of others.”