1. What is your name and what do you do in the Coast Guard? "Paulina Castillo, I work in the Response Department under Enforcement. I manage Ports Waterways and Coastal Security hours and work with the Vessel Boarding Security Team." 2. Describe diversity in a word or two and explain what it means to you. "I chose the word "challenging" because sometimes diversity makes it really hard to connect with others! I was fortunate to get to travel a lot in my life. I lived in Chile, California, Mexico, Hawaii and did two foreign exchanges to Japan. When you are fully immersed in a culture (not as a visitor but as a long term guest) you realize what a challenge it is to communicate with language and culture differences. Diversity is a challenge, but with your persistence and the kindness and patience of those around you (and their own curiosity about your culture) it is possible and worthwhile to overcome and learn from the experience." 3. How has your experience and background prepared you to be effective at your job? "The Coast Guard deals a lot with people from all over the world. I think my travels and experiences being the foreigner gives me common ground and patience working with people." 4. Tell me a little bit about your life outside of work. "Most of my free time revolves around my dog. He is a 120-pound Caucasian Ovcharka, one of the biggest dog breeds in the world. People definitely stop and say hi whenever we go on walks, so life with him is very social." U.S. Coast Guard photo by Auxiliarist David Lau