By Joe Kourieh

Arts & Features Editor

Do you consider yourself a hard worker? At the university level, it is all students’ jobs to do their best and prove their abilities. However, even the hardest workers could learn a lesson in motivation and work ethic from Brian Castellanos.

At 22, Castellanos, a junior, goes above and beyond in terms of leadership and responsibility, being an active member of three clubs, a certified S.E.A.L.S. peer leader, maintaining a 3.7 GPA and boasting a clean attendance record in all classes. He is also a licensed realtor. You might ask what keeps this young man going so strong. The answer lies in his past.

Growing up the youngest of 12 children in a low-income family in Lynn, Mass., Castellanos struggled with a series of hardships within his family, first with the death of his mother during his freshman year of high school. Less than two years later, during Castellanos’ junior year, his oldest brother died of lymphoma.

Growing up, since, as the main and eventual sole provider for so many children, Castellanos’ father was forced to work two jobs within the city, he had very limited contact with hm. With money still tight, the oldest children of the family sacrificed their educations to work and earn wages in order for the family to live.

“That really ignited the way I view things, as far as work ethic,” Castellanos said.

Fueled by the adversity experienced by his family, Castellanos resisted the gang violence and drug addiction that plagued his urban environment in order to focus on his academics, and his future.

“I never considered myself normal among my peers,” he said. “I was such a happy person. … I went to class and I loved it. I really stood out.

“I was one of the few that cared,” Castellanos said of his place among his classmates. “It was sad. It really pushed me to better myself and evolve, not only as a person, but as a student.”

Castellanos’ big break came when he received a scholarship from the Puritan Lawn Memorial Park Educational Foundation, a group based in Peabody, Mass., which provides assistance for promising students who have faced personal hardships.

The foundation provided Castellanos with $10,000 for his first year of college and, after being impressed by his straight A marks, awarded him another $5,000 for each subsequent year of his education, all the way through graduate school.

 “I didn’t use it as a crutch, but more as a motivator to strive for success,” Castellanos said.

Several years later, the foundation honored his achievements by electing him onto the board to decide the candidates for future awards.

Last summer, Castellanos decided he would challenge himself in the coming academic year by seeking four different leadership positions on campus, which he would hold simultaneously. A short time later, he helped found the new criminology and sociology clubs on campus, joined the psychology club and completed the training to become a certified a peer leader.

“When I set a goal in life, I always take it one task at a time and make sure that it’s going to be accomplished,” he said. “It’s all about being productive.”

Outside of his rigorous course of studies and leadership positions, Castellanos enjoys reading, working out, playing football and eating – particularly at a classy Framingham restaurant called Pappa Razzi, where he enjoys the ritzy fine dining he never knew growing up.

“I call it eating like a boss,” he said with a smile.

With his double major in criminology and business, Castellanos plans on opening his own law firm, after completing grad school.

One of Castellanos’ main goals in his future is to use the money he earns from his career to help improve the lives of youths in his hometown through drug and gang prevention programs.

“As a human being, I really want to help people,” he said, “and give back to the community where I came from.

“There are always ways to improve, and I’m always taking steps to better myself,” he said. “I feel like improvement is just an obstacle away. In life, obstacles are there to determine how bad you really want it.”

Castellanos described how other students should not be discouraged, but rather be motivated by their failures.

“I feel that failure is needed before you get success,” he said. “You need to fail and experience that before you can open up doors to success. … If someone has doubted you, or you feel like you can’t do something, I think you should look in the mirror and tell yourself, ‘Look up, get up and don’t you ever give up.’

“That’s how I am, and that’s how I’ll always be until I can’t breathe anymore,” he said. “I’m going forward, ‘cause in life you have to work for what you want.

“I don’t take anything for granted,” he added. “I have never imagined myself being here. After the things I’ve experienced, it’s a dream.”

For this enthusiastic undergrad, hard work, positivity and a goal-oriented mindset has made his college career a dream come true. So if you ever find yourself with a lack of motivation, you know who to turn to – Brian Castellanos has enough to go around.