Ferdinando J. Castro-Gonzalez

As an international student from Venezuela, Ferdinando saw how community service and cultivating a sense of social responsibility could enhance his country. He felt called by a strong desire to contribute toward problem solving on behalf of Venezuela. Ferdinando is excited to for the opportunity navigate a new socio-cultural environment and to learn from best practices to impart that knowledge to help the quality of life for other individuals within our Global Civil Society.

He believes that the best way to learn how to lead is through praxis and direct engagement with his surrounding community while utilizing a globalized lens via “Think Global, Act Local”. As a United Nations Columbia Leadership Council Member, Ferdinando strives to organize events that promotes Sustainable Development Goal #4: Quality Education to contribute to the intellectual life within our campus community as it relates to raising awareness about diverse cultures and social issues such as: hunger, racism, gender equity, and the environment. He cares very deeply about engendering a sense of community well-being, belonging and inclusion university-wide. As a Leadership Council Member, organizing campus events allows him to contribute toward building a better future alongside one another. He desires to positively influence the next generation of Global Citizens by designing international programs to implement the Sustainable Development Goals in adherence to the 2030 agenda.

Ferdinando is internationally recognized as the Most Distinguished PTK Member; he recently attained a placement as a 2021 All USA Academic Team member (granted to the twenty most remarkable students nationwide), the IAEE Helen Brett Award (affording him recognition as one of the ten most distinguished Exhibitions and Event Management student leaders worldwide); the 2021 Texas Student of the Year, and he is also the recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Scholar Award due to his academic excellence.