Sheena Castillo is a wife, mom of two toddlers, and an aspiring professional dancer. Her aspirations and passion for dance have been a work in progress from her first technical ballet class at CSULA in 2002. Due to financial, and personal family reasons, she unfortunately had to put aside her passion and enter into the career field. Sheena was a 911 Dispatcher and County MSAG Coordinator for San Bernardino County Fire for 5 years. After the birth of her son, Sheena was inspired to finish her Bachelor Degree. Sheena enrolled in Grand Canyon University’s online Psychology B.S program, where she consistently held a 3.5 G.P.A. With the birth of her daughter, and three courses short of completing her B.S., Sheena re-evaluated the reasons for choosing Psychology and came to the conclusion that her motives were financially driven and not driven by her true passion. Fulfilled as a wife, and mother she felt the need to set an example of what pursuing ones passion could do to make an individual feel complete and satisfied as a whole. It was important and continues to be the most important driving factor in Sheena’s life to set an example for her children and community.
Sheena enrolled into Rio Hondo College in the summer of 2013 where she met her mentors Alyson Cartagena and Carol McDowell. With the direction and advice from her mentors Sheena was able to set forth short goals. In the two years at Rio Hondo, Sheena improved her technique from beginning to college level.
She participated in the Rio Hondo Dance Collective, which gave her the opportunity to learn the realms of dance productions, participate in collegiate level festivals such as the American College Dance Association, and most importantly develop her artistic ability in the areas of Choreography and leadership.
Sheena recently auditioned for CSULB Dance B.F.A one of the most competitive university auditions due to its top 10 dance university programs in the nation rating, and successfully was accepted for the Fall 2015 school year. The many accomplishments Sheena has made are a reflection of hard work and, great support and mentorship. Her future plans do not end with a B.F.A., but continue to higher education and fulfilling her goal of one day teaching at a College and University level. She hopes to one day become the mentor she has had the privilege of encountering.