You may know Reagan Raphael ’25 as Fabrication Lead of the Gatorbotics team, but something you may not know about Raphael is that before COVID, she went to the Junior Olympics for track. Up until ninth grade, track had been her passion. That year, she decided to quit, because of her loss of enjoyment for the sport. Raphael spent the rest of her high school years exploring her love for design, art, and—as mentioned—Gatorbotics.

At the beginning of her high school career, she started an interest club at Castilleja called the Design Club with her friend Christine Ryu ’25. This design club held design challenges and themed events. Raphael also engrossed herself in classes at Castilleja that struck her interest in the realm of design and art. In particular, she felt Engineering I, Engineering II, AT in Engineering: Product Development, Visual Art I & II, and Advanced Visual Art contributed to her creative experience. Similarly, looking forward to college, Raphael said, “I want to major in engineering and possibly go into a design field.”

If you were to ask Raphael what brings her joy, she would say, “Friends, family, and food. I love food.” Some of Raphael’s favorites include Caribbean and Dominican cuisine, oxtail and jerk chicken. When asked why these things bring her joy, she said, “It brings family and friends together, for sure. For special occasions and holidays, my mom cooks really good Caribbean dishes, and when I hang out with friends, I love when we all get food together like Ramen Nagi, Sushi House, Lulus, etc.”

Raphael has many memories from her time spent in the Castilleja community, but she recalls her favorites being the Tie Ceremony, Rivalry, and other traditions. She said she feels like she’s grown with the leadership opportunities she’s taken on throughout her years at Casti. Raphael said that the biggest challenge she’s overcome is her struggle to ask for help from teachers in her harder classes.

When asked what Raphael wishes she could say to her younger self, she responded, “I would tell my younger self to keep trying new things. You never know what you’ll enjoy doing until you do it.”