SFA graduate Castillo accepted into prestigious art program at Texas Tech University

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – A Stephen F. Austin State University art student and a recipient of the Ed and Gwen Cole Dean’s Award in Art has been accepted into a highly competitive Master of Fine Arts program at Texas Tech University, where she has also been awarded several scholarships.

Madeline Castillo, art major from League City who recently earned a B.F.A. with a concentration in metals-jewelry and a second concentration in sculpture, will pursue an M.F.A. in metalsmithing with a second emphasis in sculpture at Texas Tech, from which she received the Diversity Graduate Recruitment Fellowship, Helen Jones Foundation Scholarship, TTU School of Art scholarship and a teaching assistantship.

“I am extremely excited and grateful to have received such a great scholarship from TTU,” Castillo said.

“Madeline was our top candidate in jewelry design and metalsmithing at Texas Tech University,” said Robly A. Glover, professor of jewelry design and metalsmithing at TTU. “Based on her portfolio and interview, we were able to put together a significant fellowship and assistantship package of support for her.”

Through the TTU Graduate School, Castillo was one of the first students to receive a travel and research scholarship, Glover added. “This will help Madeline expand her research efforts and support her development of a nationally competitive M.F.A. portfolio,” he said. “Madeline is an intelligent and personable student who impressed everyone who met her. We look forward to working with her in the fall of 2020.”

Castillo said her time studying art at SFA helped prepare her for this next chapter of her education.

“I am immensely grateful to the wonderful professors at SFA,” she said. “Their guidance, patience and enthusiasm for teaching have allowed me to develop the skills I need to feel confident as an artist going forward after graduation. The bonds I made with my mentors and peers led me to grow, not just as an artist, but as a person. I want to thank my professors at SFA for all that they have done for me. Their constant support and belief in me always inspired me to do my best. I will always remember their lessons and continue doing my very best at TTU.”

In the future, Castillo hopes to apply to artist residencies to further develop her concepts and learn from new environments.

“Ultimately, I want to be in a position where I can teach others,” she said.