Standing Up Against Bullying

When Nick DeCastro, a 2024 graduate of Steinbrenner High School, organized a peer-led intervention with the students he observed bullying others, he earned recognition from the school’s resource officer, Deputy Anthony Bennett. He also received Hillsborough County’s Anti-Bullying Advisory Committee’s annual Anti-Bullying Award for his courageous stand against bullying.

Recognizing and Preventing Bullying

The Situation

Bullied because of his height and ethnicity, DeCastro contemplated taking his own life in sixth grade. “I didn’t know how to make sense of it all back then,” he says. “I made a social media post about taking my own life. It was a cry for help.”

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DeCastro believes that the effects of bullying don’t fully go away. So in high school, he refused to be a bystander when he noticed underclassmen bullying students who had disabilities, came from other cultures and could not speak for themselves.

“Some students being bullied did things like stand up when responding to teachers’ questions in class because that was customary in their native country,” DeCastro says. “Here, it sparked bullying.” Drawing support from his language arts teacher and Deputy Bennett, DeCastro organized a meeting with the underclassmen. “Punishment was not my goal. The goal was encouraging the bullying to stop.”

The Intervention

Faculty and Bennett agreed that having DeCastro and other seniors speak candidly with the underclassmen about bullying was a promising path forward. “My mission at Steinbrenner is ensuring all students obtain their education free from harassment and bullying,” Bennett says.

“De Castro and his peers did an incredible job educating the students and providing ways to positively impact their campus.” Bennett attended the meeting to ensure a peaceful environment, but seniors guided the conversation, emphasizing the importance of empathy, respect and understanding for all students.

“There is banter between kids that is healthy and fun,” DeCastro says. “I needed the underclassmen to understand when words cross the line into bullying.” While the underclassmen were initially reticent at the intervention, DeCastro had a breakthrough.

“When the meeting started, there was eye rolling. By the end, the underclassmen were reflective – realizing why they had to be better.” Through sharing personal experiences with bullying, De Castro and his peers reached underclassmen in ways unlikely from standard lectures and disciplinary actions.

The Recognition

“Their intervention will go a long way in keeping a positive, bully free environment at Steinbrenner,” Bennett says. “Students like De Castro are why I choose to remain working as a School Resource Deputy.”

DeCastro’s leadership supported his advancement through the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office Police Explorer program – one that DeCastro joined given his interest in a law enforcement career.

Says Bennett: “His desire to put an end to bullying, especially with a younger generation, is only a small part of how he helped keep bullying off campus.”

DeCastro’s legacy of leadership and kindness will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on the school.

Learn more about Hillsborough County’s Anti-Bullying Advisory Committee

https://hcfl.gov/councils/anti-bullying-advisory-committee

Books about bullying for readers of all ages

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/books-about-bullying

Originally published in the October 2024 issue of Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine.