Carolyn Castanon was a happy teenager. An A student attending high school, she听loved hanging out with her little sister and parents in their Colorado Springs home and playing tennis with her friends. Then, two weeks before her 15th birthday, her world broke.
Her father, an undocumented Colorado resident for 20-years, had been detained and imprisoned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. To protect their mother, the family moved to a stranger鈥檚 basement, where they all shared a queen-sized bed. A few months later, after her father was deported to his native country of Peru, her mother made the agonizing decision to join him, but to leave her eldest daughter, Carolyn, a natural born U.S. citizen, in Colorado to finish high school. 听
鈥淚 wanted听to drop out,鈥� says Castanon, who is graduating from the 彩民宝典鈥檚 Technology, Arts & Media (TAM) program in December. 鈥淚 just wanted us to be together.鈥�
After travelling back to Peru with her mother and sister for a short visit, Castanon returned to Colorado alone. She would never live with her family again.
Castanon鈥檚 challenging childhood is the focus of her interactive web project, 鈥淏eing American,鈥� which recounts her teenage and young adult struggles. Her project, which she built as part of a Capstone 2 class, incorporates JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and HTML.
Site visitors follow her story through a timeline, finding photos, videos, drawings, diary entries and other personal relics along the way.
鈥淚 just left my parents, my sister, the only people I have as family,鈥� she wrote after her first visit to Peru. 鈥淚 am going back to my country, all by myself. I am only 15.鈥� 听听
Upon her return, she lived with her high school math teacher, a woman she barely knew, and the woman鈥檚 family. Over time the woman became a second mother to her, and Castanon became part of the family.
TAM Instructor Arielle Hein encouraged her to pursue the interactive story project, Castanon says, but it wasn鈥檛 easy. 鈥淲hen I started writing, I started remembering,鈥� Castanon says. 鈥淭hat was the hardest part. At times, I had no motivation. I couldn鈥檛 bring myself to remember; I didn鈥檛 want to remember.鈥�
Finding her community
Castanon developed a passion for web design after taking a class in ATLAS and soon switched her major to TAM. The move brought her more than a new degree program: 鈥淭he ATLAS community is a family to me. So many people have supported me and showed me so much love,鈥� says Castanon. 鈥淢y peers have been the best people in my life.鈥�
The bachelor's degree grew out of the ATLAS Institute鈥檚 popular TAM minor and certificate option, launched in the late 1990s, which now enrolls more than 1,000 students. She now works as a lab assistant for the Web class.
鈥淎fter doing this capstone project, my voice is being heard,鈥� Castanon says. 鈥淎nd that for me is so beautiful.鈥�
Pursuing a TAM degree also allowed her to conceive and build projects鈥攕omething she enjoys. She is especially proud of the two she made in her Objects class with recent TAM graduate, Marla Bernstein. For one electronic lighting project, Illuminating Garden, the two women built and programmed an interactive art installation that is both 鈥渆ntertaining and soothing,鈥� using conductive paint and a conductive touch board to trigger multiple LEDS. They also wired and programmed 鈥淐hill Out Carly,鈥� a teddy bear with an embedded MP3 Trigger Arduino board that offers a collection of encouraging and comforting words when hugged or squeezed. 听
Since age 18, Castanon has tried to bring her parents back to the United States. Her father works in a shipyard in Peru. Her mother now has stage-four cancer. Her attorney says it may take another three years.
Castanon and her boyfriend recently purchased a home together. This summer she plans to bring her 15-year-old sister, who is also a U.S. citizen, to live with them and attend high school.
鈥淚 want others to be aware that an American citizen can go through something so tragic, yet be where I am right now鈥攁 fourth-year student graduating with an engineering degree,鈥� says Castanon.
鈥淢y story is me. I am who I am because of my story. I am so proud of who I am and who I have become.鈥�
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Visit Castanon鈥檚 website:
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