Former management information systems major, Amanda Castanon graduated from Tarleton State University a completely different person than when she started. As a first-generation student, she didn’t feel like she was prepared enough when she first came to college. But that just made Amanda all the more resourceful and she found that Tarleton State’s resources really helped her.
Tarleton State’s scholarships alleviated much of the financial stress in Amanda’s life. She was a recipient of the Paul Pair Scholarship, the Tarleton Pride Scholarship, the Top Academic Partner Scholarship and the Dr. Steve Steed College of Business Scholarship Endowment. Because of these scholarships, Amanda was able to focus on school without having to worry about money.
Amanda was also able to focus more of her energy on extracurriculars. While at Tarleton State, she was involved in Women in Business, Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society and the Organization of Latin-x American Students. She also served as the vice president of the Dr. Sam Pack College of Business Student Advisory Board. A position that served her well and opened the door to many opportunities.
The most impactful of those opportunities was the chance to meet Dr. Sam Pack. She and her fellow Student Advisory Board members got to visit Dr. Pack’s headquarters in Dallas and sit in on the actual Advisory Board’s meeting. This was an extremely rewarding experience for Amanda because it allowed her to have a seat at that table. Being able to meet Dr. Pack and see how his values reflected, it was like seeing through him what Amanda could be.
According to Amanda, college was just her taking one chance after another. She said that her life turned into something so good simply because she said yes. She grew so much as an overall person and turned into someone who is actually confident.
Her senior year, Amanda was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Award for her major and department. An accomplishment she is extremely proud of, because it meant her efforts were seen and recognized.
After she graduated in December of 2025, Amanda wanted to go directly into the work force and hoped to land a business analyst job.
It has gotten really competitive on the agricultural education side, and I wanted to do something. I know it is not a lot, but offering somebody a $500 per semester scholarship to recruit a good kid and get them in the agricultural education program was a way I felt like I could give back.