Eli Castro and Tracy Locke Castro Bring Their Johnnie Perspective to Life
June 10, 2022 | By Patricia Moore
Eli Castro (SF94) and Tracy Locke Castro (SF95) created a life and a legacy from their pursuit of knowledge of the Great Books at St. John鈥檚 College. Their daughters Ella and Clarissa attended Summer Academy on both campuses. Ella just graduated from American University, and Clarissa will join the Santa Fe freshman class this fall. Eli credits a love of books and conversations that propelled them to St. John鈥檚 as foundational for their family.
鈥淲hen the parents are Johnnies, we鈥檙e always going to be talking about books,鈥� said Eli, an executive at professional services company Deloitte. 鈥淭his helps us have great conversations because we have a common language.鈥� Tracy, an independent web developer, explained: 鈥淭hrough middle school we read stories out loud to them, including the children鈥檚 Homer.鈥� She remembered the girls exclaiming, 鈥淲e鈥檙e on our Odyssey!鈥� as they played.
She grew up on a rural Texas cattle ranch and attended a boarding high school in Dallas, Texas, where one of her teachers knew about the Great Books program. 鈥淚 found a St. John鈥檚 brochure at a career fair and thought, 鈥業 am at the beginning of my life, and I want to know the answers to the big questions. However, all the books are in the library.鈥欌�� To make up her mind, Tracy visited St. John鈥檚, attended seminar, and was 鈥渁mazed鈥� at how the conversations continued late into the night. 鈥淚t felt so authentic, along with the blurring of your academic life and your personal life, hiking in the mountains together,鈥� she said.
All in the St. John鈥檚 family
After becoming friends at St. John鈥檚 and graduating, the couple married and raised their family in Texas. They could not have predicted their future careers while studying the Great Books. Tracy鈥檚 post-graduation journey initially led her back to her Amarillo, Texas, roots before going into public health nursing and teaching at the University of Texas at Austin. She transitioned to being a stay-at-home mom, and then to graphic design, web design, and development. 鈥淥ur path is not straightforward,鈥� Tracy said. 鈥淪t. John鈥檚 is an education for the whole person. It helps you learn who you want to be, and the skills you can get later.鈥�
Soon after receiving his diploma, Eli began a PhD in economics program at the University of Wisconsin, a direction he soon discovered was not right for him. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 working for me; do we have any leads?鈥� he asked Jennifer Chenoweth (SFGI95), then director of career services in Santa Fe. She put him in touch with Aaron Rosenbaum (A89) who operated a small consulting business working with government clients. One week later, Eli moved to Washington, DC. 鈥淎bsolutely, St. John鈥檚 got me that job,鈥� said Eli, who began his consulting industry career through that fortuitous St. John鈥檚 introduction. He subsequently earned an MBA from the University of Texas and in 2005 joined Deloitte where he serves as a managing director focusing on higher education clients.
Two Summer Academy students, two trajectories
The couple鈥檚 eldest daughter, Ella, benefitted from her Summer Academy experiences even though she chose a different college, according to Eli. 鈥淲e never pushed St. John鈥檚,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think discourse鈥攃ivil discourse鈥攊s tricky right now. It matters as much doing a public policy degree at American [University] as it does for talking about books,鈥� he explained. 鈥淐onversations about ideas in a certain inclusive way鈥攍istening to and responding to what people are saying鈥攁bsolutely has value,鈥� said Eli. 鈥淪ummer Academy gives a little window into that. Clarissa loved the St. John鈥檚 conversations, and there never really was another choice even though she was accepted at other schools.鈥�
What鈥檚 a college student to do? Ask an alum.
Recently Eli participated in an online workshop where he joined other alumni to answer questions from newly accepted students. Their concerns primarily focused on how employers view St. John鈥檚, was there relevancy to the work world, and can one get into a good graduate school after St. John鈥檚. 鈥淭he answers were incredibly easy,鈥� said Eli.
鈥淲hen you start from St. John鈥檚, you don鈥檛 have a direction; you鈥檙e just a college graduate,鈥� said Eli. 鈥淚magine a big meadow, and there鈥檚 no path through it. All of us who are on the other side have figured out a path. It鈥檚 really cloudy when you try to look forward; it鈥檚 obvious when you look backward,鈥� he noted. 鈥淎nyone can explain their story to help make the post-graduate journey seem a little less scary, and that can be impactful,鈥� he added.
Now the college offers more direct career preparation, according to Eli. 鈥淭he way St. John鈥檚 summer internship program sets the bar in education鈥攏obody does that鈥攁nd that鈥檚 brilliant,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 say this because I work with higher education all the time.鈥�
鈥淭he world is changing, evolving, and so is St. John鈥檚,鈥� adds Tracy. 鈥淭he core of St. John鈥檚 is still there with the Great Books programs, and now there are many activities and career preparation opportunities that make St. John鈥檚 even better,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hile I feel strongly that being an undergraduate isn鈥檛 about getting a skill so you can find a job, we do have to get jobs.鈥�
Why should alumni care about future graduates?
Eli asserts that alumni support students for various reasons, 鈥渁nd for many of us, St. John鈥檚 was a transformational experience. For St. John鈥檚 to exist in a world that is becoming more and more specialized, our college is becoming more and more unique,鈥� said Eli. 鈥淭he Program allows people to learn to think in a way that鈥檚 difficult to learn in other places.鈥�
鈥淚 want to help people find their way in the world,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e the beneficiary of a beautiful experience like St. John鈥檚, you owe it to the world to make sure it exists for those who come after you,鈥� he concludes. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how it is for me.鈥�