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Reiné Cielos Castilla CC'25

Award Recognition

Community Building
At Columbia, Reiné Cielos Castilla CC’25 has grown to understand the value of community for its power to shape and empower identities and belonging. She is being recognized for her community-building contributions to QHouse, Multicultural Affairs' Queer and Trans Advisory Board, the Double Discovery Center, Proud Colors, Black Theatre Ensemble, ONYX and the Academic Success Program. Castilla carries the rhythms from her birthplace, Cartegena, Colombia, as well as from her home borough, Queens, New York, in every place she dances in. Castilla is a graduating senior earning a Bachelor's Degree in creative writing and sociology. Currently acting as the co-president of Proud Colors and the official "Mother" of QHouse, Castilla strives to support and protect her queer and trans siblings of color. Through exploration in her early 20s, she has committed to helping others in need, prioritizing collective care, empowerment and visibility. Her writing and dance become extensions of that work: storytelling as resistance, choreography as connection and joy as a radical offering.
Doy gracias a la nena, la versión más joven de mí que nunca se rindió ni siquiera cuando la vida se sentía imposible. El ritmo de su tambor nunca dejó de golpear y es su inocencia y resiliencia lo que me inspira todos los días. Por ti, mis amigos, mi familia y Dios, lo hago todo.