“Ever since my first year of high school basketball, I developed a hard-working mentality,” senior Kaden Castillo said. 

Kaden is the 17-year-old son of Mary-Ann and Cj Castillo and the older brother of Kaleb Castillo. Kaden participates in basketball but in the past years he’s also participated in football and cross country. 

Kaden’s favorite memories from high school include both his favorite sport and friends. He gets to play basketball and hang out with his two closest friends Alex and Evan, making many unforgettable memories. 

“My favorite high school memory is the bus rides before and after the game,” Kaden said. “My two closest friends are Alex and Evan. We always look out for each other.” 

Throughout high school, Kaden has been involved in multiple sports but has only found a passion for one. 

“This year I’m only participating in basketball, but throughout high school, I have participated in cross country, football, track, and basketball,” Kaden said. 

CJ Castillo, Kaden’s dad, has been coaching him his whole life. He has also always supported him in anything he does, whether it has to do with basketball or not. 

“The person who impacted me most is my dad,” Kaden said. “He is always there for me when I’m doing good or bad”. 

After high school, the thing Kaden will miss most of all is his friends. He has hung out with the same boys since JH. 

“I’ll miss my friends the most because we’ve been in the same friend group since JH,” Kaden said. “It makes me sad that it’s our last year together.” 

Kaden plans on playing college basketball. Although he is undecided on where he wants to go, he does have colleges looking at him. 

“I wanted to play college ball ever since I got into junior high,” Kaden said.  

Kaden has taken a lot of classes throughout high school but has one that is helping put him on his career path. 

“My favorite class is probably economics because it’s a college class,” Kaden said.  “And it’s giving me an idea for my future classes in college.” 

Elizabeth Roman has taught Kaden for all five years of high school. Kaden says that she’s his favorite teacher. 

“She’s been teaching me since 8th grade,” Kaden said. “She’s a modern-day teacher, so she relates to a lot of her students.” 

Mrs. Roman has watched Kaden grow socially and become the young man that he is today. 

“I’m so happy that Kaden is coming out of his shell,” Mrs. Roman said. “He’s always been so quiet and now he’s just blooming, it took me five years to finally hear his voice.” 

Mrs. Roman understands how the mind of kids work. You get what you give. She’s excited to see what his future has in store for him. 

“I always think to respect everybody no matter how old they are, so I can get the same respect back,” Mrs. Roman said. “I can’t wait to see what he does in his future with his basketball career because he does so good on the court.”