Orlando Castaneda

“Stick with it. Don’t let anything rock your boat.”

In a matter of seven years, Orlando Castaneda has advanced his future with different degrees to pepper his resume.

He first received an associate degree in New Media Communications at Northwest Vista College in 2006 and then from there received a bachelor’s degree in Bilingual Communication from the University of Incarnate Word. Now, he’s taking it a step further and pursuing a master’s in Administration at the University of the Incarnate Word.

Along with going to college, Orlando works full time as an academic advisor at Northwest Vista College and teaches two Student Development courses.

Orlando says receiving his associate degree set the foundation not only for his education but also his career.

“My associate’s degree helped me get my foot in the door. I started working at NVC about 10 years ago as a work-study. I slowly moved up from part time to full time to advisor,” he said.

Orlando advises students to keep their educational aspirations in the forefront even when it gets challenging.

Favorite Vista Value:  Caring