Alumni Spotlight - Haley Castillo
Haley Castillo graduated from UAF with a bachelor’s degree in emergency management in spring 2021. In addition to her studies, she was also a member of the UAF Rifle team. Haley currently works for Casa San Antonio Pablo in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is preparing to join the U.S. Border Patrol. We recently spoke with Haley to get her perspective on her HSEM experience.
What attracted you to the Emergency Management field?
Honestly, HSEM was supposed to be my back up plan. I was interested in search and rescue, as well as law enforcement, so I thought it would be interesting. After the first semester, I fell in love with the program and set my sights on exploring it.
What is the most rewarding part of the HSEM program? What are some of the challenges?
The program offers a lot of freedom to choose what you want, but the real reward is putting in the effort to pursue what you are curious about. With that intent, you gain a better understanding and your work will reflect that. Something I personally struggled with for a long time was digging deeper. There is a lot of general information, but the details are important, as well.
What advice do you have for potential students considering the UAF HSEM program?
This program is what you make it. If there is something you are interested in within the program, pursue it. The worst you can do is learn and the best outcome is that you enjoy it.
How do you balance your work, classes and downtime?
I make checklists at the beginning of the week and plan out my tasks that I will be completing each day.
What are you learning from your instructors that really stands out?
One thing that I have learned from my professors is that emergency preparedness is key. You can simply glide through the courses and that’s fine, but the real test will be out in the real world when that knowledge is something you will have to rely on.
Anything else you would like to share?
The professors are all great! They each have their own styles of teaching, which creates a well-rounded learning experience. I got so much more out of it than I expected and I am grateful for it. I am a student-athlete for UAF’s rifle team and I owe a lot of my success to my professors, who were all supportive of me and my endeavors.
