STEM School Shooting Hero Celebrated in Highlands Ranch

In early May 2019, there was a shooting on the campus of STEM School Highlands Ranch in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. STEM School Highlands Ranch is a K-12 school that focuses on educating their students on science, technology, engineering and math curriculum that will help them move into STEM career paths.

The shooting left one student dead and eight injured. The student who died was 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo. The senior at STEM School Highlands Ranch tackled a shooter that entered his classroom, which left him fatally injured.

At his memorial more than 3,000 people gathered to honor Castillo and his selfless act to protect his fellow classmates. Classmates said that Castillo had a love for Jeeps, the outdoors and robotics.    

Before the memorial service began, hundreds of Jeeps drove into the city with the blue and yellow, STEM School Highlands Ranch’s colors. Others painted ‘#STEMStrong’ or special thanks to Kendrick on their car windows.

The sacrifice that young Kendrick Castillo made is not one that will soon be forgotten. The students, people in the Highlands Ranch community and the STEM community have come together to honor the young man.

Seeing the STEM community come together in the wake of tragedy is truly heart-warming. It shows the strength of people involved in STEM on a variety of different levels. The memory of Kendrick Castillo will not soon fade; rather, he will live on at STEM School Highlands Ranch and across the United States as a young aspiring STEM ethustiest who put his fellow classmates before himself.