Self-taught pianist makes mark at graduation
Jun 16, 2025
Ana Castillo will play the piano for her commencement ceremony on Friday
SAN ANTONIO – A local, self-taught pianist is making her mark as a senior.
San Antonio native Ana Castillo is graduating on Friday from Texas Online Preparatory School and will be gathering with her online peers on the University of Dallas’s campus.
Not only will she be joining thousands of her classmates from the school, but she will also be playing piano at the Commencement Ceremony.
Castillo said she learned to play piano by ear in her bedroom. She was then asked to play for award ceremonies, concerts and even weddings.
“I’ve been playing for six years,” Castillo said. “And it’s been a long journey of practice, frustration, dedication and focus.”
Castillo decided to switch to homeschooling at the start of the sixth grade after an uncomfortable experience with public school.
“I didn’t feel comfortable there,” she said. “I felt left out; the environment was just not for me.”
Though Castillo was told she would struggle in homeschooling, she said it has opened many doors for her.
“Whenever I get complimented about my playing, I of course say thank you, but mainly I give all the glory to God because he heard my prayers, and he gave me this talent,” Castillo said.
After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in real estate, like her two aunts, and continue her passion for music.
Her full statement is below:
When I first came into middle school, I was so excited to start because I saw there was an orchestra class, and one instrument that I always wanted to learn was violin.
But for those first 2 weeks I was there in public school, I didn’t feel comfortable there. I felt left out, the environment was just not for me. Even though I did have a best friend with me, we never got any classes together.
So then after those two weeks, my mom took me out of that school and got me into homeschooling!
When my mother picked me up that day, she mentioned that the principal had told her, “You’re making a mistake, she won’t learn very well in homeschool”
And I wish I could face her right now and prove her wrong because ever since I joined Texas Online Preparatory School (TOPS) my life has changed completely.
I met the sweetest and best friends there, learned an instrument, got better grades and NOW?! IM GRADUATING!! LIKE ITS CRAZZYYY!!
I’m so grateful to my parents that they supported me on this big decision to switch to homeschooling because I don’t know where I’d be right now if I didn’t leave that school.
I remember when I left that school, I was a bit upset I couldn’t learn my dream instrument, the violin. And at the church we go to, there was this guy who played the piano so amazingly and I felt inspired to learn it! And I was like. “I wanna play like him!” So, I decided to learn piano instead! Give it a try, you know?! One early October morning, my mom took me to a pawn shop to look for a simple keyboard to start! I had saved enough money from my birthday to buy it! And once we arrived home, I immediately went into YouTube looking for tutorials.
I first started off by pressing each piano key, listening to each different note. I started learning the basics and getting used to playing with both hands.
And I will admit, it WAS NOT EASY!! I was always practicing with the right hand to get the melody right and the chords for the left hand and perfecting my hand coordination. After those few weeks of learning, I fell in love with the piano and everything about it! I practiced EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. For many, many hours until I got a song right and if I made any mistake, I would always start over until I perfected it!
And now I’ve been playing for 6 years, and it’s been a long journey of practice, frustration, patience, dedication, and focus.
And even though I didn’t have no piano teacher, I prayed to God for his help and guidance and by watching tutorials online!
To this day, I still don’t know very much about music theory and reading notes but something I did develop along the way was getting to play by ear! Now whenever I want to learn a new song, I just listen to it and learn it fast by ear, which is something I never thought I could do.
After these 6 years of learning, I had the chance to play at a wedding, play piano specials at my church, play in many K12 talent shows since 6th grade, and even got play at the 2024 K12 graduation and for this year’s 2025 graduation too!!
Switching to homeschool really opened doors to many opportunities and I’m so grateful for it!
Whenever I get complimented about my playing, I of course say thank you, but mainly I give all the glory to God because he heard my prayers, and he gave me this talent.
From this piano journey, I learned practice makes perfect and even if you mess up and feel like giving up, just get up and try again!Ana Castillo