Highline Community College’s vice president for Student Services, Toni Castro, recently received the Region V Outstanding Community College Professional Award from National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), a professional organization for student affairs administrators in higher education.

“I am very proud that NASPA has chosen Toni Castro for its most prestigious award,” said HCC President Jack Bermingham. “Her passion for student success, her leadership in statewide student services initiatives, and her work in mentoring colleagues nationally make her the perfect choice for this recognition.”

Castro has served as a student affairs administrator at both the university and community college level for over two decades. She spent eight years at Sonoma State University in California, and the past 17 years at HCC. She has served as the College’s Vice President for Student Services for the last seven years. Castro previously received the Scott Goodnight Award for Outstanding Service as a Dean from NASPA in 2007.

NASPA is the leading association for the advancement, health and sustainability of student affairs professionals. It encompasses a wide range of professionals that provide programs, experiences and services that cultivate student learning and success in concert with the mission of their colleges and universities. NASPA was founded in 1919 and is composed of 13,000 members in all 50 states, 25 countries and eight U.S. Territories.

The award is presented to an individual that demonstrates leadership and a commitment to NASPA and/or the profession. For more information on NASPA’s Community College Professional Award, please visit http://www.naspa.org/about/awards/occpa.