Maria Castro named Outstanding Academic Manager of the Year
The Association for Cerritos College Management Employees (ACCME) has named Maria
Castro, athletic director, as the recipient of the 15th annual Outstanding Academic
Manager Award.
Maria Castro has been with Cerritos College since 2013. She was first hired as an athletic trainer and shortly after as an adjunct instructor from 2014 through 2023. She was promoted in 2019 to become the athletic director. As an instructor and athletic trainer, Maria contributed directly to the learning and development of up-and-coming athletic trainers. Although no longer teaching, she continues to serve as a mentor and role model to many of them today.
The athletic director role is incredibly demanding, as it supports the hundreds of student-athletes on campus, their teams, coaches, staff, and more. Maria works diligently to ensure student-athletes focus on educational success and takes a student-centered approach to all her decision-making.
The world of collegiate athletics also has many requirements and rules. Maria ensures that processes and policies are followed within the college and that the CA athletic guidelines and our athletic teams are in excellent compliance. During COVID, Maria also implemented and maintained a strict special protocol to address health and safety needs—which was no simple task given the volume of participants and, later, spectators at events.
Maria also ensures every athletic coach is hired, creates a coach’s athletics handbook, and prepares for every athletic event. The Falcon Athletics has 19 teams, each hosting multiple games and planning for away games. On campus, it looks like setting up canopies in the hot afternoon sun to manage events that tear down in the rain. Maria shows incredible leadership through her actions and steps to get the job done, no matter the task. She is both no-nonsense and extremely caring, and that strong sense of service inspires others and makes them feel important, safe, and motivated to do a good job.
Maria’s team noted this, sharing that she is caring, diligent, organized, and always interested in improving the student experience. They also shared that Maria is a supportive supervisor who shares information widely and encourages professional training and growth.
As noted in one nomination, Maria “pours her heart into Cerritos College, ensuring our athletics programs run smoothly and that she handles it while still offering help to others, with a smile on her face.”
Congratulations, Maria, and thank you for a job well done!
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