When you make good choices academically and professionally, consider more who you want to be, not what you want to be. Find that sweet spot, your passion, and the things you’re good at.
Five years after graduating from Bridgewater State University Erron Custadio, ’10, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
His treatment involved surgery and removing half of one of his organs.
“During that time, I really had to focus on my health. I was deterred professionally for a year in terms of growth,” he said.
Today he is cancer-free and savoring every moment and is not afraid to take risks. The married father of two works as a buyer and planner for Millstone Medical Outsourcing, but he’s also pursuing a new dream, acting, and recently landed a lead role in an upcoming film.
“Being a dad is job number one. I also really like my day job and love the company I work for. But, acting, it allows me to nurture my creative side,” Custadio said.
Looking back, he credits some of the experiences and lessons he gained at BSU for helping him prepare for the workforce and giving him confidence to pursue new passion.
Custadio had transferred to BSU in part because he had heard of the school’s reputation.
“I have fond memories of my time (at BSU),” he said, adding that he made the right decision.
His acting career began when his wife and mother gifted him with classes at the Trinity Repertory Company Theater one Christmas.
“This was prior to having kids, “Custadio said. “I took some dramatic acting classes and thrived.”
He eventually found his niche in improv and performed stand up at local venues. But his first major role ended up not being in comedy, but horror. His wife came across the audition listing online and encouraged him to try.
“It was the first audition I had ever been on, and I auditioned for the villain. But they saw me as a ‘soft-dad type’ and so I read for a different part.”
Little did he know that the “different part” ended up being the lead role in the movie.
The Rez is currently being shopped around to different streaming platforms and is expected to premiere at local theaters later this year. In the film, Custadio plays a podcaster who deals with the paranormal who takes his family and friends to the Freetown State Forrest to record an episode and accidently stumbles on a cult in the woods.
Now that the film has wrapped, he has admittedly been bit by the acting bug.
“I would eventually love to write and star in my own films,” he said. Knowing his children will get to see him in The Rez is emotional.
“My dad died when I was a little kid. I don’t remember what his voice sounds like…Being in this film, leaving a piece of me to them, something where they can always see me, walking around—that’s the coolest part,” Custadio said.
For BSU students trying to figure out their place in the world, Custadio encourages them to live in the moment, to make the most of their time while at school and beyond.
“When you make good choices academically and professionally, consider more who you want to be, not what you want to be. Find that sweet spot, your passion, and the things you’re good at,” he said.
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