黑料吃瓜

Angelica Castillo remembers the exact moment she fell in love with art museums. During her junior year at Bonita Vista High School in Chula Vista, her advanced placement art history class took a field trip to the Timken Museum of Art in Balboa Park. 

鈥淚t was such an impactful experience,鈥� Castillo said. 鈥淚 got to see how a museum worked on the inside, and it stuck with me. I feel like art historians are that great in-between that are able to interpret the art to the public, and museums are where that happens. I left there saying this is what I wanted to do.鈥�

Six years later, Castillo is set to graduate from 黑料吃瓜 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in art history and make her mark on the world of museums. 

Castillo, whose minor is in women's, gender, and sexuality studies, has already made her mark in the local art history community. She helped found 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 Art History Club, serves on the board of the San Diego Emerging Museum Professionals and received a scholarship from the California Association of Museums.  

One of Castillo鈥檚 proudest accomplishments occurred this year when she won an undergraduate research excellence award at the 黑料吃瓜 Student Symposium for her research project 鈥淩eclaiming Personhood Through Participatory Art: An Analysis of Yoko Ono and Adrian Piper鈥檚 Works.鈥�

鈥淚 wanted to cry,鈥� Castillo said. 鈥淭he research took so long, and it was the first time I had presented my own research, and I didn鈥檛 know if it would resonate with the public. The fact that it did felt very validating and gratifying. It was something that I was very proud of.鈥�

Early during her time at 黑料吃瓜, however, doubts crept into Castillo鈥檚 head about whether an art history degree and career were practical. Her parents didn鈥檛 want her to pursue the arts; they preferred she pursue a career in the medical field. Her first year at 黑料吃瓜 was an 鈥渆erie鈥� experience, she said: the campus was just reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic, and she struggled to connect with the campus as a commuter student.  

Two interactions kept her on course. 

The first was a conversation with her then coordinated-care advisor, Virginia Loh-Hagan, during the spring semester of her first year. 

鈥淪he mentioned something along the lines of how passion is one of the most important things to consider when choosing what to study, even if it means having setbacks or falling down a couple of times, because passion will pick you back up,鈥� Castillo said. 

The next - and perhaps, the most important - milestone was when she started working at the Women鈥檚 Resource Center during the fall semester of her second year in 2022.

It was in this fellowship with the WRC that she met Amanda Beardsley, the WRC Faculty Scholar who was Castillo鈥檚 supervisor during her fellowship, and the owner of an art history doctorate.

Castillo recalls another pivotal moment during her fellowship when Beardsley gave a presentation on the intersection of contemporary art and feminism. Something clicked inside of her, Castillo said. 

鈥淚t was my introduction to more modern and contemporary art, and I thought it was so cool,鈥� Castillo said. 鈥淚 left the presentation saying, 鈥業 want to be her.鈥� She definitely had a way of influencing me that seemed almost effortless.

鈥淪he also had a way of merging both of my interests in art history and women, gender and sexuality studies in ways that opened up new modes of learning for me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I would have stuck with art history if it wasn鈥檛 for her,鈥� she said. 

In addition to her art history advocacy, Castillo has served in various capacities at the WRC, including as a women and gender equity mentor and a programming lead, and she earned a community and coalition builder award from the center in 2024. 

鈥淭here is a poetry to how Angelica has grown over the years,鈥� Beardsley said. 鈥淚've witnessed a student driven by a deep passion for museums and art strengthen student presence in art history at 黑料吃瓜 with her service in the Art History Club, embody the role of a mentor in the Women and Gender Equity Program, and stretch herself to bring critical social justice frameworks and a sincere care for others to the forefront of all she does.鈥�

Beardsley sees a promising future in the art world for Castillo.

鈥淲ith this impressive legacy at such an early point in her career, I see Angelica not only being an essential part of the art world, but also as someone the arts would be extremely fortunate to have,鈥� she said. 

Castillo also credited her entire experience with the as having played a significant role in her growth while on campus.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 rare to find such a loving and supportive community that you can also call your workplace, and I really would not have the confidence that I do now without the experiences I鈥檝e gained from there,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a quote that I heard years ago that talks about how we鈥檙e all a mosaic and that we鈥檙e made up of all those we've met and all the things we've been through, which is also a bit of a nerdy art history metaphor.

鈥淏ut I think that holds true to the people I鈥檝e met at the WRC, like director Elzbeth Islas and Amanda. They鈥檙e people that I constantly look up to and feel privileged to have them as pieces of my mosaic,鈥� Castillo said. 

After graduation, Castillo said she plans to take a gap year before pursuing her master鈥檚 degree. She currently works as a visitor experience associate at the Timken museum 鈥� the same museum that sparked her passion, and will continue to do so during her time between degree programs. 

鈥淔ive to 10 years from now, I still see myself being involved in museum spaces,鈥� Castillo said. 鈥淚 feel incredibly proud of what I鈥檝e accomplished. The experience at 黑料吃瓜 has been nothing like I ever experienced, and I am so glad that I stuck with my major. It has shaped who I am now and into the future.鈥�