Leo Castillo was about to graduate from high school in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do for a career. He put some thought into being a firefighter or studying psychology. Just as high school was about to end, he and his best friend decided to volunteer at an orphanage.
For three months they spent days on end cleaning and doing tasks to help orphans. It impacted him so much that he decided he wanted to do something with his life to help other people. He now works as a senior pre-construction specialist with Nabholz.
“It was an amazing experience,” he said of his work at the orphanage. “It was a life changing experience. At first, I was kind of fighting the world. The world can be so unfair for a few. It’s an experience that changed my outlook on life.”
After his work at the orphanage, Castillo moved to Northwest Arkansas on a student visa. He pursued a degree in construction management. Toward the end of his college career, he received an internship with Nabholz, and the company hired him once he graduated.
In his role, Castillo helps inform clients about how much a project will cost. He informs them about the means, methods and materials that will be used. He tries to construct a “road map” of the project that will hopefully save on costs and keep the project on budget from the beginning to completion.
Castillo has been involved with numerous construction projects including education, health care, office, industrial, and other types of buildings. Making big decisions early has a cost saving impact toward the end of the project, he added.
“Construction is the one thing you can do anywhere in the world,” he said. “If I can help someone with my knowledge to build a house or a facility that is very rewarding.”