Style Weekly has named among Daniel Custodio '00 Richmond's "Top 40 Under 40," a list that recognizes young men and women who are "paying attention to the changes truly needed in the community." Custodio is the poet in residence for the Richmond Public Schools Arts and Humanities Center, where he is inspiring a new generation of poets and focusing particularly on helping non-English speaking students become comfortable with American culture. Teacher Eugenia Yeuell observes that that Custodio "calls for students to jettison out of their comfort zones and expose themselves."
Custodio also spends times traveling to perform slam poetry and to offer creative writing workshops. He has donated proceeds from his performances to help feed a single mother and her children and has organized poetry fundraisers for Prevent Child Abuse Virginia and the Peter Paul Development Center. In the words of teacher Dorothy Rice, Custodio is "a man who is passionate about life."
At Hamilton, Custodio studied creative writing. He went on to earn his master's degree from Northwestern University. He is a four time national slam competitor and has self-published two books, Rising to the Surface and Hooked.
