Diego Castro, a school counselor at Hoover Middle School in Merced, has been named the 2026 California School Counselor of the Year by the California Association of School Counselors (CASC). Castro received the recognition during the CASC Leadership Development Institute this summer after being nominated by his peers.
Castro grew up in Delhi, a small town south of Turlock. Reflecting on his own childhood, he noted that counselors were not common in elementary and middle schools when he was a student. “When I was an elementary school student, I honestly felt like I needed a counselor,” Castro said. “For me personally, it was hard navigating the many aspects of growing up. I did it on my own, in a way, but I felt like it would have been so helpful to have someone there for me in that stage of life, because you go through so many learning experiences.”
He began tutoring students while attending college and observed firsthand how important it is for children to have support from adults outside their families. “Working in the educational system as a tutor, I saw how much students needed that person, that safe space, someone to talk to… that inspired me to really want to go into education. I wanted to be the person to provide those safe spaces for kids,” he said.
After completing undergraduate studies at UC Merced, Castro pursued a master’s degree in counselor education and earned his Pupil Personnel Services credential at Stanislaus State University in 2015. He credits his time at Stan State with shaping his approach as a counselor: “I credit Stanislaus State for providing that framework and broadening my perspective of what school counseling should look like.”
Castro started working full-time as a counselor immediately after graduation within Livingston Unified School District. There he helped implement a comprehensive counseling program based on guidelines from the American School Counselor Association. The district reported improvements such as lower absenteeism and discipline rates along with better academic outcomes following these changes.
“In a comprehensive school counseling program, we’re going to all the classrooms to do lessons for the students, which is one of the most important things because a lot of the time at many places, people don’t even know who their school counselor is or what do they do,” Castro explained.
He describes his recent award as recognition not just for himself but also for everyone involved: “The community gives me the opportunity, so they deserve a lot of credit,” he said. “I wouldn’t be able to bring the best service possible without the support from administrators, from my school counseling team and the parents for their trust. It truly takes a village.”
In addition to his work as a counselor, Castro earned an administrative credential from Stan State in 2018 and worked as an administrator supporting counseling programs at Modesto City Schools. In 2019 he returned to Stan State as a lecturer in its Department of Advanced Studies in Education.
“I really wanted to give back to the next group of students, sharing what I learned at Stan State and what I was learning in the moment as an active school counselor,” Castro said.
Recently returning home professionally when he took up work with Delhi Unified School District before joining Hoover Middle School this year—Castro implemented similar data-driven counseling programs across multiple schools there.
Looking ahead at Hoover Middle School and beyond within Merced City School District—which serves older students than some previous roles—he aims for broader impact: “That’s my next step, to work on a bigger scale,” he said. “My vision for the district is for every student to have access to the resources provided by a data-driven, comprehensive counseling program. From there, hopefully we can make it countywide. With continued results, it can show just how important school counselors can be in lives of students.”
