Instagram is an extremely popular app meant for curating perfect feeds and posting your favorite pictures. At Castilleja, Instagram is so much more than that—it helps students bond and share what they’re passionate about, with numerous accounts supporting different organizations, clubs and more.
While Castilleja has its official account, with over 3,000 followers, an athletics account, a library account and a Bourn Lab account, one of the best ways to experience and get to know Casti’s students is through the many miscellaneous and “non-affiliated” Instagram accounts. These accounts stretch from sports to other extracurriculars to accounts that are “just for fun.”
@castillejashoesaccount (57 posts, 213 followers): The Castilleja Shoes Account was founded in November 2021, though the creator kept their identity hidden for three years. Recently, in her senior speech, Briana Perez ’25 revealed that she had created the account as a way to gather the community together. As you can imagine, dealing in the art of shoe-posting requires lots of careful consideration, as many students may not agree with having their shoes posted. However, many students felt positively impacted by this account. Noelle Madden ’25 shared,“Castillejashoesaccount changed my life and made me a better person.”
@castiwopo_dabs_on_em (383 posts, 410 followers): One of the main uses of Castilleja Instagram accounts is sports! Madden said that the Castilleja water polo account has been a staple of both the water polo team and the Castilleja community for years, and they hope to continue its legacy. “This account has been around for a really long time, probably since before I was born. It’s timeless,” Madden said.
This account has also improved the overall team culture of the water polo team. “The account really brings up the mood of Castilleja water polo. Because, sometimes, we’ll take pictures of our game, and I’ll post every bad photo and say, ‘Look how happy we are’ as the caption. So I think that really affects [team members] positively,” Madden added.
Alongside this plethora of Castilleja sport Instagram accounts, the app has sparked competition between sports teams. “One day, out of the blue, the newly formed Castilleja basketball account, completely unprompted, posted to their story asking, ‘Who’s the bigger ballers—Castilleja water polo, or Castilleja basketball?’” This competitiveness has brought out the best in the water polo team, making them play harder and building their confidence. “We didn’t engage [with Castilleja basketball] because we know that we’re the bigger ballers [and] we don’t need other people’s validation,” Madden said.
@Casti_2027 (8 posts, 153 followers): Instagram accounts are also a big way for students to show off their grade’s spirit and pride, with an account for the freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors and many other graduated classes. These accounts capture the unique essence of each grade through field trips, holidays, retreats and other exciting events!
Emma Ping ’27, the sophomore class archivist and runner of the Casti_2027 account, said that the account helps shape the community and serves as a way to look back at high school: “I think that it’s beneficial for our community to have an archive of our activities.” The account truly reflects the sophomores, featuring nearly everyone in the grade.
@ringuscallie (18 posts, 160 followers): One of the most infamous uses for Instagram accounts within the Castilleja community is ringing! In the fall of every school year, Instagram accounts are made for almost every senior in honor of ringing season. On these accounts, the seniors’ ringees post old or embarrassing pictures, among other anecdotes, to celebrate their ringer. However, along with many other Instagram accounts, such a large movement of users can bring a sense of pressure.
Anna Kocher ’26 shared that creating posts could be stressful or tiring at times: “I feel like at the beginning of the year I was really excited and the ringers were really excited. So I really tried to make good posts, but I kind of trailed off a little bit; it was a really long ring season.” However, she explained that the ringing account also made her closer to her ringers, helping coordinate gift drop-offs and furthering her personal connection with them. “It allowed me to interact with them while still keeping my identity a secret. I think the ringing accounts also made the whole experience more fun for both the ringer and ringee—I had fun making the content, and my ringers always commented on my posts or replied to my stories,” remarked Kocher.
@livelaughlairs (15 posts, 122 followers): Steven Lai, geometry honors teacher and frequent Taylor Swift-lover, has a personal fan account on Instagram dedicated to his advisory. Lai believes that while the account is just for fun, one of its most important traits is that “it strengthens connections in our advisory.” Mars Scott ’27, one of the founders of the account, commented that it “adds unseriousness into life, something that’s really needed.”
@callywallyhan (1 post, 28 followers): Similarly, Matthew Callahan has a fan account of his own. Callahan touched on how the many Castilleja Instagram accounts, including his own, show the special community Castilleja has: “It reflects the kind of culture of our school. We have a certain kind of closeness here that you might not have at other schools, and I’m okay with people poking fun at me.”
While these two accounts may spark a debate about which account is better, they both reflect the unique bonds and relationships that students have with their teachers at Castilleja. However, not all Castilleja accounts have received the same positive reception from the school.
Niva Himatsingka ’27, co-lead of the Upper School Rock Band, mentioned that many rock band members were interested in starting an Instagram account to “promote the band and give other people who can’t [or don’t] want to be a part of the band insight into what we do.” However, Himatsingka received slight pushback from administrators, with some expressing slight hesitation.
As a member of multiple groups around Castilleja, Himatsingka understands the power and importance of Instagram accounts for building community and sharing interests. “It’s fun to see what other groups are doing. I’m also part of Mock Trial, and it’s really entertaining to see [our] videos. I think [Gatorbotics’ account] gives people an opportunity to share what they like about robotics, which I think is really nice,” Himatsingka said.
However, these accounts bring up the question of privacy, as students in advisories and clubs may not consent to having their images posted online. Scott shared that sometimes members of their advisory will ask for photos to be taken down, and she emphasized, “You want to respect people’s boundaries.” It’s important for account leads to toe the line between privacy and school spirit, something that they factor into every post they make. It’s this careful consideration and eagerness that furthers Casti’s Instagram accounts.
Whether it’s fans of teachers, grade representatives, clubs, secret shoes or ringers, Castilleja’s different Instagram accounts clearly have a long-lasting effect on our school and community, serving as one of the hallmarks of Casti culture. So get out your phone, open up Instagram and follow as many accounts as possible—because they aren’t just accounts: they’re the spirit of Castilleja!
