BROWNSVILLE – A GEAR UP student has plans to attend one of the top business schools in the nation. She will be working towards getting her accounting degree.

Clarissa Castillo graduated from Veterans Memorial High School and had a passion for mathematics. And as a senior, she already set her goals on which college to attend.

“I’ve decided to go to the University of Texas at Austin,” she said. “I actually went to two camps over the summer at UT, and they are sponsored by the school of business, which is where I want to go, where I will be planning on going, and… um… one was for accounting and the other was leadership and McCombs ranks really high in business schools and is actually number one for accounting.”

Castillo has ambitions to create something that will help families in need.

“I want to make like this workshop for families that don’t have enough money and can’t pay for someone to actually do their taxes. So it would be like a tax workshop, and I plan on starting it my freshman or sophomore year at UT Austin and getting students involved and local accountants. And I actually plan on having my own accounting firm one day,” she said.

Castillo said her parents taught her the importance of being not only a good person, but also keeping up with finances.

“My dad has always been responsible with his money, always making sure that we had enough, that everything was paid for, that everything was accounted for. And he always carries around this little book that says what he spent the money on and how much he would spend,” she said. “At first it’s like why are you doing all this? Like it’s okay, it’s just money after all. Then, I started noticing that it actually does make a big difference because $20 can go by really quickly.”

Her counselor and GEAR UP facilitator Celina Barrera Scott said Castillo is always on point and always very persistent.

“Clarissa is very persistent. She comes in and she will ask all types of questions. We even sit down and make phone contacts, if she has questions regarding when she's having to turn something in. She is the type of student that does not hesitate, she will come in and she will be on top of everything,” Scott said.

And that persistence paid off, Castillo won one of the most prestigious awards in the country.