by Xypher Pino

Over the past summer, Greensboro College hired Mario Castillo in an effort to expand and develop the esports program of the school. Castillo, a GC alumnus, earned his B.A. in music from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) in 2015 and completed his master’s in music education here at GC in 2023. The Collegian had the pleasure to interview Castillo about his background and plans for the esports program.

Castillo was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and did not move to North Carolina until he was eight years old. After being accepted to UNCG, Castillo then moved to Greensboro to obtain a bachelor’s in music. Castillo stated that he decided to pursue a degree in music because of the love he has with “intermingling video games and music.”

“For most of my life, video games have been my passion. Around the time that I was in college, esports and game majors were not really an option. I could not go down that route, so I chose to go with music because I have always found the relationship between music and video games to be super interesting. My capstone research paper for my master’s degree was actually on the psychological and sociological impact that game sound has on the video game experience, so that shows you how far I came with that idea of connecting music and video games.”

When asked what made him get into coaching and the esports world, Castillo credited both his burning passion for video games, but also his experience as being a music teacher over at Smith Elementary School in Burlington, NC.

“Studying music and having my students learn music was a very satisfying step-by-step process, and this contributed to my love for coaching. Alongside that, I soon came to find out that a lot of my students actually really loved video games. From there, I started hosting small game tournaments at the school and I also began after-school programs where I teach kids not only how to play video games, but also teaching them things such as what mental processes do you need to succeed, how to predict and manipulate your opponent’s moves, et cetera. Doing all of that really made me interested in coaching esports, so when GC offered this opportunity of being esports manager, I gladly took it.”

As mentioned previously, Castillo is a GC alumnus. He stated that he chose to go to GC because he had a strong belief that smaller class sizes would allow him to grow more as a person due to him being able to work closely with his professors. This is exactly what Castillo experienced at GC – he felt very supported by everybody he worked with, and he fell in love with the whole campus. When the opportunity of becoming GC’s esports manager was offered to Castillo, it was the perfect fit. He could continue his time at GC while simultaneously working on something that he was very passionate about – video games and esports.

When asked about his plans on how to grow the esports program of GC, Castillo stated that the most important part is finding ways to increase the popularity of the program, “I have been working closely with financial aid and admissions, and I have been in contact with the English, communications and media faculty, such as Dr. Kathleen Keating, to make sure that people are aware that GC does indeed have an esports program.”

“We have been working on getting some letters sent out to new students, and current students, to increase overall awareness about the program. We are also trying to get into the social media aspect of things and promoting the program through there. I have also been in contact with different schools and having conversations with them about the possibilities of having tournaments between us. There is a lot of work to be done, but we are excited, and we are working hard in order to reach our goals and to expand the program.”

According to Castillo, the biggest challenge they currently face with growing the esports program is renovating and expanding the current esports room. Castillo stated that as of now, they have a total of nine students on the esports roster and are trying to get that number up to at least 15, but that will not be possible unless they have a bigger space and more supplies.

With Castillo as your esports manager, expect to have the competitive flame within yourself constantly lit, as one of the main reasons Castillo loves esports so much is because of its competitive aspect, “I absolutely love competition, especially from a gaming perspective. I truly get immersed with the experience, and I really get into it. There is nothing more that I desire than getting a victory against someone else, even if it is through another screen. I want my team to match the same competitive edge as I do and if they do not have that, they will by the time they are done with me!” 

Outside of work and gaming, Castillo loves to indulge in anime, with his favorite anime being anything related to Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. He also loves to spend time with his Australian shepherd dog, Oliver, “It has become a hobby of mine to teach Oliver as many tricks as possible. It is just really satisfying, and it feeds into that teacher and coach mindset I have of guiding someone towards growth and development. It is always one of my favorite things when I see a student who finally gets a concept, and an imaginary light bulb comes up – teaching Oliver new tricks always gives me that same type of satisfaction.”

The final question that The Collegian had for Castillo was how he wants to be remembered as a person, and he responded with saying, “As a lifelong learner and a lifelong teacher. Someone who is a mentor to the people around them and always willing to help others.”

With Mario Castillo leading the charge, GC’s esports program has an extremely bright future. He is a very dedicated and passionate person that has a true love for not only gaming, but also for teaching and guiding others. If you want more information about the esports program, feel free to email Castillo at mario.castillo@greensboro.edu.