Cristian Castillo
Cristian Closes
Loan Officer Assistant.
Team Beard’s service has been amplified by Cristian’s invaluable knowledge and experience as a former Real Estate agent. His proficiency reviewing contracts, conducting borrower consultations, and performing file intake are a result of his keen eye to detail, unwavering discipline, and luminous personality.
Human
Cristian’s imperishable and optimistic resilience is what the team admires most about him; it’s his superpower. It was inherited to him from his equally unbreakable mother, who at the age of 20 years old left her country with no money, career, or particular skill set to rely on because her will to provide a more promising life for her three children was greater than any ounce of doubt or fear of the unknown. Cristian stands on the shoulders of a giant, and as someone with drastically greater access to resources than his predecessors he continues to increasingly honor his mother’s sacrifice by embodying the greatness she built their family’s foundation on.
Cristian is an invaluable part of Team Beard. His unbending resilience and compelling appreciation for people grant him the ability to provide an unmatched customer experience, for he will always have an answer and will prioritize your family’s well-being throughout the entirety of the loan process. His commitment, diligence, and high-performing discipline have been waiting for you.
Cristian’s Three Pillars:
self-development | community advocacy | financial literacy
Self-Development
Cristian admits: “I used to make fun of the concept of self-development because of how underwhelmingly it was thrown around. However, throughout my time at Trust The Beard I’ve been witness to the raw and valuable outcomes of self-discovery, but it has been the practice of self-development that has led to one of the most powerful shifts in my life”. Cristian’s routine includes watching motivational videos, finding inspiration through books, exercising daily, focusing on affirmations throughout the day, and nurturing his diverse musical abilities such as playing the saxophone, piano, auto horn, guitar, bajo sexto, base, and several percussion instruments. Hence, Cristian joins an elite few who are multi-instrumentalists: Prince, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys...Are you impressed yet?
Community Advocacy
Across the street from Cristian’s childhood home there is a nonprofit organization that he observed intently for years. He began to inadvertently recognize the staff members from his front yard as they arrived and left everyday. But neither he nor his family were ever approached by said organization, so he remained oblivious to the truth that in that building his family could receive the financial literacy help he longed for. Thankfully, the Boys and Girls Club* became a second home to him throughout his adolescence as it strengthened his urge to lean into his curiosity. Because of this, the day came when he finally walked into the building across from his house. After taking advantage of their financial literacy program, Cris became a volunteer and thus a mentor to kids who, similarly to him, desired a better future for themselves and their families. Being the introspective person that Cristian is, he realized from this experience that just like it is crucial for a person to act on and honor one’s curiosity, it is also not enough for a community organization to “slap a name, a logo, and a mission statement on themselves and wait for people to find them”. Sometimes, sparking a conversation with the little boy merely across the street could change a life.
*The Boys and Girls Club is an invaluable source in underserved communities across the nation. Some notable alumni are Michael Jordan, Jennifer Lopez, Denzel Washington, Ciara, Jason Derulo, and even Alex Rodriguez
Financial Literacy
From a very young age, Cristian became aware of the discrepancies in resources between his neighborhood and other parts of the city. He could lose himself in contemplation, so the appetite to satisfy his curiosity did not lie dormant. After cultivating that crop for years, he decided to seek out the financial advice that his family desperately needed. He was thereupoin introduced to the concept of Financial Literacy, which drastically shifted the course of his life. Today, Cristian volunteers in a Financial Literacy program for kids at a local organization, and he makes sure to over inform everyone, clients of Trust The Beard or not, about the various options available for them to grow into their own most optimal financial position. He is a breathing example that people can “financial literacy their way out of” systemic oppressive systems that affect low-to-moderate income communities. In Cristian’s eyes, acquiring knowledge ironically leads to emptiness if you do not disseminate it.
