Joaquin Castro-Balbi, Salutatorian

An FWCD Original, Joaquin Castro- Balbi is FWCD’s Class of 2022 Salutatorian. He will attend Harvard University and study Electrical Engineering and/or Computer Science.

A National Merit Finalist, College Board National Hispanic Recognition Programs Scholar, 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program Candidate, and Cum Laude member, Castro-Balbi has a passion for learning and FWCD. When his parents moved to Georgia last summer, he asked to stay in Fort Worth with family friends to finish his high school academic career at FWCD with his classmates and friends.

Castro-Balbi has always pursued the most rigorous classes: He completed five Honors and 12 Advanced Placement courses in his Upper School career. His favorite courses: any that involve math and science. When he exhausted FWCD’s mathematics curriculum last year, he enrolled in Linear Algebra through the Malone Schools Online Network, of which FWCD is a founding school. He also enjoyed the humanities and learning about new cultures, languages and traditions to help him best communicate within the connected world.

Joaquin Castro-Balbi, Salutatorian

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Accomplished in the arts and athletics, Castro-Balbi has played violin for 13 years and was part of the FWCD Middle School orchestra program. Since his freshman year, Castro-Balbi has served as Concertmaster for the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra. As an athlete, Castro-Balbi excelled in cross country and track and was a member of the swim team.

An influential Upper School leader, Castro-Balbi served on the Student Council as Class President in grades 9-11 and was voted Student Body President in his senior year. In that role, he oversaw Upper School announcements, sharing his humor through jokes during announcements, and worked with the School’s administration to enhance the community.

He will miss the sense of togetherness at FWCD. “We are a tight-knit community that has been through a lot together,” he said. “Though our interests, ideas and paths may differ, I have never felt uncomfortable approaching anyone in our class in conversation, and our unity—mutual openness, trust, and initiative—despite these contrasts makes me believe that we can have a similar sense of community at larger scales.”