NAU graduate Raul H. Castro, the first and only Latino governor of Arizona and namesake of the Social and Behavioral Sciences building, has put his illustrious life story on paper, and campus is invited to a book signing for his new memoir.
Castro will sign copies of his autobiography, Adversity is My Angel: The Life and Career of Raul H. Castro, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, in the Havasupai Room of the University Union. Jack L. August, Jr. coauthored the book with Castro.
The event, sponsored by Ernest Calderón, president of the Arizona Board of Regents, and John Haeger, NAU president, is free and open to the public.
Castro served as Arizona’s 14th governor from 1975 to 1977 before being appointed U.S. ambassador to Argentina.
Born in Mexico in 1916, he lived there until 1926 when his family moved near Douglas, Ariz. He was the dirt-poor son of a copper miner and midwife and put himself through school by plucking chickens, panning gold and waiting tables.
He worked a variety of odd jobs while attending Northern Arizona University, then known as Arizona State Teachers College, where he was captain of the track team and captain of the boxing team. In 1988 Castro was voted into the NAU Athletics Hall of Fame.
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1939, the same year he earned U.S. citizenship.
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Castro later graduated from the University of Arizona law school and his legal and political career began. In addition to governor, Castro has served as Pima County Attorney, a Superior Court judge and as ambassador to El Salvador and Bolivia.
Castro’s areas of legal expertise includes immigration, naturalization and customs, as well as private international law and public international law.
“Any Arizona institution would be proud to have Raul Castro’s name associated with it,” Haeger said during last year’s dedication of the Raul H. Castro Social and Behavioral Sciences building. “With the numerous contributions he has made to Arizona and to society, we are honored to count him as one of our alumni.”
If you plan to attend, call the Office of the President at (928) 523-3232.