[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 157 (Wednesday, September 28, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING VANESSA CASTILLO FOR HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DARREN SOTO

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 28, 2022

  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, Vanessa Castillo has been a public servant 
for almost 24 years. The daughter of Puerto Rican parents, she was born 
and raised in Chicago where she began her studies and taught minority 
youth.
  After moving to Florida in 1998, she began working for the Orange 
County government where she served for nine years in four departments 
while obtaining her Associate of Arts degree in 2001 from Valencia 
College. This led to a new career path serving as a clerk for the 
municipalities of Haines City, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, and Winter Haven, 
where Vanessa serves as that city's first Hispanic city clerk. While 
serving the citizens of Winter Haven, she received her Bachelor of 
Applied Science in Supervision and Management with a concentration in 
public administration from Polk State College.
  A committed public servant, she is honored to serve citizens with 
integrity, transparency, fairness, honesty, and equality. She is always 
eager to help them understand the inner workings of government and see 
it in a positive light. Her greatest motivations are her parents. Her 
late mother, a native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, came to the U.S. in the 
1970s and was a straight-A student who dreamed of becoming an 
accountant. Yet, she sacrificed her higher education to put her 
children first. Her father, also from Caguas, came to the U.S. in 1955 
to seek better opportunities. A retired electrician, he dropped out of 
high school to help his family and later received his GED. Through 
their efforts, Vanessa became a strong and successful Hispanic woman 
who has never forgotten her roots.

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