Castle Creek Elementary School supports Beyond the Wall

March 24th, 2010

When I was in fifth grade, I had a teacher named Mrs. Garcia-Galan; I wrote an essay in her class stating that I would help the needy in Colombia when I was an adult.  Now, Mrs. Garcia-Galan is Ms. Ortiz, and she is an administer at Castle Creek Elementary School, where I work today.  She donated clothes for the campaign, and she allowed me to get the children involved; students are now bringing donations in for the needy in Colombia.  Donations will be received in Castle Creek till June 2010.  I want to thank all the parents and students of Castle Creek Elementary for donating and supporting my campaign.  I also want to thank the faculty and staff of the school for allowing me to receive donations from the students. 

Mr. Greg Mortenson

March 13th, 2010

After the success at the Service Learning Conference on February 13th, 2010, Mrs. Doromal, my Service Learning Council teacher when I was in high school, invited me to a lunch conference with Mr. Greg Mortenson, author of "Three Cups of Tea", on March 12th, 2010.  The invitation was also made by Mr. John Wright, Principal of Timber Creek High School, where the lunch meeting was held.  It was a very positive experience, since he was already informed about my campaign.  He is a very interesting person because not only is he an author of a New York Times Best Sellers book, but he is the director of a nonprofit organization that has built over 120 schools throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan.  I was given a copy of his most recent book called, "Stones Into Schools," and he autographed it, as well. 

I was also invited to attend his presentation at Timber Creek High's Performing Arts Center; this was the location of my first official presentation in May 2009.  I want to thank Mrs. Doromal and Mr. Wright for inviting me to this great event, and Mr. Greg Mortenson for his great work and interest in my project.  I also want to thank the students of Timber Creek High School that took advantage of my presence there, and donated a lot of clothes; among these students was Esteban Cajigas.