Ms. Castillo goes to Washington

McALLEN — Evelia Castillo will move from a single-parent home in the Rio Grande Valley to the White House this month.

The 23-year-old, 2004 alumna of Nikki Rowe High School in McAllen, has been awarded a Public Policy Fellowship by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The fellowship sponsors Hispanic college graduates to work in a legislative office, federal agency or advocacy organization for nine months.

Evelia, who graduated from University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice just last year, will work in the Office of Vice President Joe Biden from August to May.

She attributes her accomplishment to the encouragement she received from her mother Hilda Ramirez.

“She was an inspiration,” Evelia said. “My mom always tried to extend a hand to others, especially women going through tough times.”

Ramirez, who was born in Rio Grande City, believed in her daughter’s abilities. But she also knew that children from single-parent homes had certain disadvantages.

Statistically children of single-parent homes are perceived to have a strike against them, Ramirez said in Spanish.

Evelia and her twin sister Evelyn overheard their mother’s political talk while growing up. And those discussions inspired them to work for a better world.

“Both of us were very aware about political, social and humanitarian issues,” said Evelyn, who has interned as a legislative aide in Austin. “We’d watch the news while everyone else watched cartoons.”

Evelia’s precocious interest in current events, particularly women’s rights, would put her on a course for the White House.

Her proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border gave her a travel itch that has led her around the world.

Evelia studied abroad in London during the summer of 2006, where she organized workshops for a nonprofit organization called Women’s Solace Aid.

Her work in London was only an introduction to international politics. Evelia applied to intern with the U.S. State Department during the fall of 2008. She could work with the U.S. Embassy in one of two cities: Mexico City or Ankara, Turkey.

Evelia originally choose to work in Mexico City, which was culturally familiar to her Hispanic family. But months went by without any word about the status of her application to Mexico.

She had almost given up on the internship when the State Department called her with an offer to work in Turkey.

Evelia received a call back about Mexico City after she had already accepted the position in Turkey

“Turkey is similar to Mexico in that it’s a very conservative country,” she said.

Evelia helped organize a video conference between the National Network to End Domestic Violence, a coalition of 2,000 local organizations that advocates for victims of domestic violence, and several human rights organizations in Turkey.

The conference discussed the status of women’s rights in Turkey, focusing on recent reforms to the penal code that banned practices such as marital rape.

Evelia’s research and writing on the subject would later become a cable that was sent to the European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau of the State Department.

Her internship with the State Department ended. But Evelia’s work in public policy will continue in the Office of the Vice President, where she will work with Dr. Jill Biden, the Vice President’s wife.

“I hope I’ll have a project to work on that deals with women’s issues,” Evelia said.

Ramirez says she is proud of her daughter’s success and will continue to support her every step of the way. But she has just one condition: “Never forget your roots.”

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Spence Kimball covers general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956)683-4423