Caleb Hernández Castillo is BA student at DRBU. A member of the Class of 2028, he will be entering his second year of the program this fall. Between classes, homework, work study, and extracurriculars, he finds time to regularly work on the nonprofit he founded and operates, which helps high school students in his home country of Costa Rica to prepare for standardized tests. Caleb was kind enough to share with us a little of his journey and what inspires him to help others.

Caleb, you came all the way from Costa Rica to study at DRBU. What made you want to be a student at DRBU?

I came to DRBU for several purposes: my metaphysical beliefs, what I believe is my purpose in life, and what I want to do after DRBU. In my head all of these are linked, and I’m trying to connect two different fields. I want to pursue an MA and PhD in neuroscience, but I also want to have a solid idea of Buddhism. In Costa Rica, I was doing engineering, but I dropped out because I felt in a way that DRBU was waiting for me. I think I knew that the instant I arrived, and so I’m very happy with my decision to come here.

You have started a nonprofit organization, Uingreso (which roughly translates to Uadmissions in English), that provides Costa Rican high school students with online resources and support as they prepare for standardized university admissions tests required by Costa Rican universities. Can you tell us about your nonprofit? What motivated you to start it?

I’m very passionate about education. I’m a passionate student, and I care about other people’s education. I think that people should be educated, and that’s especially crucial in Third World countries. Education is even more significant in places that have difficult conditions. It is fulfilling and life-changing. So I felt, given my personal experiences and conditions, being born in Costa Rica, I should do something.

The nonprofit focuses mostly on low-income students. It’s open to everyone, but the main public I’m trying to reach are low-income students that cannot afford the expensive courses that will help them get into college and help them prepare for tests that are similar to the SATs. Because of their social and economic context, they don’t even have access to basic information about these tests. So there was a need to make information and resources accessible to these students. I knew that everyone has a phone now, and so that was something I could start working with.

In 2023, I took one of these standardized tests. Since I came from those same difficult conditions, I had to work very hard. I didn’t have money and I had to find resources. I really needed to prepare for what would be a life-changing decision. I saw classmates in the same struggle, but they didn’t have the chance to go further. I saw them suffering. That made me think I should do something.

My exam went well and I got a good score, so I knew that I had studied well, I knew how to prepare for this kind of test. I knew how it would be feasible to help others. I got the idea in November 2023, which is summer in Costa Rica; I worked those months organizing study content, both for math and textual comprehension. I synthesized over two thousand test problems that I worked on. I put together a specific study methodology, classes with explanations, and over fifty lessons with quizzes. There’s also a final test that is similar to the exam that students will actually take.

The website I put together also includes materials that students can access and review anytime and databases of questions that shift over time. There are also webinars every two weeks with professors who can help the students in real time.

Have you done all of this yourself?

I put together the content, the study materials, the website. At first people were very doubtful because I was 17. I asked professor friends of my family and I if I could put their images on my website. Now they help me with the webinars. I’m very autonomous right now, but I still face that challenge. When I went home recently, I tried visiting high schools in the less developed parts of the country, to tell students about my project. They would ask me how old I am. They wanted to know how I could do what I’m doing and how they could trust me. I think evidence is the best thing: I’ve had students who got into college, and I put that on the website so people know it actually works.

Recently you traveled to the United Nations headquarters in New York City to give a presentation about your nonprofit. How did that come about? And how did it go?

I had the opportunity to engage with the United Nations in Costa Rica, where I introduced the academy I founded, which also functions as a nonprofit organization. They are looking for new leaders and young people making change in the world. I talked with them about my project, and they promoted me a lot through social media. That gave me the chance to go to the UN in April, through the Economic and Social Council. They had a Youth Forum to give young leaders the opportunity to present solutions to challenges like education, economics issues, and so on. I gave a speech about my project. It was a very fruitful experience.

What is the future of your project?

Right now we have over 500 active students. Throughout the summer I’ll be working every day, as much as I can, to boost the project and maintain its quality. I want to keep one-on-one attention with the students.

It’s encouraging to see it making a difference, even if small. There’s still much work to be done and plenty of room for improvement, but even a tiny step forward is better than standing still.

If you would like to learn more about Caleb’s project Uingreso, you can visit its website at www.uingreso.com.