Honors Day

Student Perspective

Jonathan Hernandez '09
May 1, 2009

I would like to begin by welcoming all distinguished guests, donors, faculty, students and friends of St. Olaf. It is a great honor for me to be here with you this afternoon and a huge privilege to be one of the students to say, “thank you” on behalf of the college. As President Anderson has already mentioned, I am originally from the sunny city of Los Angeles, California. Most people who live outside the state of California have a misguided notion that living in the state of California is absolutely phenomenal. I will like to disprove this assumption by stating that my life experience in a suburb of Los Angeles was by far the opposite of phenomenal. While growing up in poverty, I was exposed to gang violence, prostitution, murder, theft and hate crimes on a regular basis. At a very young age, I learned the basics of survival in this dangerous environment. For instance, I quickly learned not to wear clothing with too much of one certain color or not to wear certain color coordinations because I could be mistaken for a gang member. I learned not to walk into certain neighborhoods, not to be outside after eight at night, and especially not to get involved with a gang, since that would only increase the number of enemies for me.     

I soon grew tired and frustrated of living life on the edge. I asked myself many times, if there was a way in which I could escape the limitations and obstacles that lay before my family and I at home. It did not take too long for me to realize that the first step of achieving this goal was to obtain a college education. Not only would a college education help me decide what profession to pursue in the future, but would also increase my changes of moving my family away from the city in which they currently live. While conversing with my college advisor (Mr. Keith) my junior year in high school; I shared my aspirations of attending college and possibly leaving the state. Even though my mind was set to leave the state, I was still uncertain of where to go, but clearly knew that I wanted to attend a private college with a good reputation. Because of the fact that I did not know what career to pursue in life, I desperately needed to attend an institution that could offer me freedom to explore many different fields of study. It was through one of my meetings with Mr. Keith that I first heard about St. Olaf, and had the opportunity to interview an Ole by the name of Basil Vernon, who was a junior at the time.

I based my judgment and decision of attending St. Olaf on the wonderful stories and experiences Basil shared with me. It might sound surprising, but I chose to come without even visiting the college beforehand. Now I can now safely say that I made a wise decision to come here. In July of 2005, I arrived on the hill for the first time to participate in the Student Support Services Summer (SSS) Bridge Program -- a four year TRiO program, which has provided me with the necessary guidance, support, and resources needed to be a successful student. The rich education and experience I was soon to receive from St. Olaf was going to come with a price, a high price not affordable for my family, but reasonable considering the benefits I was soon to gain from this wonderful institution. Although, I certainly have a good share of loans the John W. Conway Memorial Scholarship of which I have been a recipient has truly made a huge difference in my ability to earn my college education. For all those Oles such as myself who have also benefited from scholarships; I’m sure that they will all agree with me that these generous gifts to our education have made our educational dreams a living reality. Had it not been for my scholarships, I doubt I could have come and remained enrolled in St. Olaf. Thanks to your financial contribution, I have been able to attend one of the most prestigious institutions of the country.

I have received blessings beyond my imagination here at St. Olaf. For example, I would have never imagined that I was going to have the privilege of teaching Spanish in Hawaii during my college education. During the interim of my junior year, I participated in the Multicultural Education in Hawaii study abroad program. While being there I was able to work with multicultural students, taught Spanish at a private (Kamehameha Schools) and public (Kealakehe High School) school setting to 6th-9th graders and formulated lesson plans as well as taught seven full-day lessons. My participation in this wonderful study abroad program helped me discover my passion for teaching, and enforced my thoughts of becoming a language instructor in the near future. I would like to personally thank Professor Schelske from the Education Department for making this study abroad experience truthfully a trip to paradise.    

Another way my St. Olaf education has blessed me has been by helping me with my inter-personal relationships. Even though I come from a very diverse state, I never had to take a stand and defend my position in a controversial issue. My interactions in and out of the classroom have helped me respond to difficult issues from various different stand points. I am now able to have challenging conversations, with those that hold different views as my own, and still have a positive experience at the end. For instance, by debating about religion with Muslim friends, I have transformed myself from a shy compromiser to a passionate advocate of my own beliefs.

In addition, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to become friends with individuals that have taught me about their experience in life, their side of the story, and new ways of looking at the world. The point I am trying to get across is the reality that my social interactions at St. Olaf have helped me become an open-minded individual, who is willing to accept differences. Furthermore, my educational experience at St. Olaf has also exposed me to different cultures and ethnicities, which I had never previously been in contact with back at home. For example, I met and befriended people from Ukraine, Russia, Somalia, Laos, Tibet, and Vietnam, and it has been an overwhelming positive experience learning from their cultures and backgrounds.         

One valuable experience I learned obtained throughout my four years at St. Olaf has been learning how to manage my time wisely. For a college student maintaining a balance between his/her academic and social life is a must! With no parents here to help me create a daily schedule, or to annoy me until I start on my homework; I quickly had to discern how, when and where to complete different tasks and still have enough time to sleep. Well, to be honest with you, the sleeping has not been going well, but my body has been able to adapt to five hours of sleep a night. Yet another fascinating fact I have discovered through my St. Olaf experience has been the reality that for a while I tried comparing myself and imitating others in an effort to become successful and get through the rigor of academic and social responsibilities. Fortunately, I have learned that I do not need to be like everyone else because the more I become the person God wants me to be; the happier, less stressed and the easier my academic responsibilities become for me.

Furthermore, my college education has also enhanced my academic performance. Although I continue experiencing stage fright at the beginning of every presentation, I have become a more self-confident and outspoken individual. Initially, I entered St. Olaf as an extremely timid young man, who was petrified of the idea of speaking in front of a large audience; such as the one I am before today. You might find this silly, but I remember imploring to God in my prayers to make me invisible in class my freshman and sophomore year, so that my professors never called on me, even if I had something to contribute to the conversation. I used to originally believe that I could never possibly become a leader, since I was used to simply being a follower. Part of the reason why I refused to assume leadership positions was my fear of failure and disappointing those who I could be leading. As the years have gone by, I have realized that we all make mistakes and can only learn from them. During my first two years, I did everything in my power to avoid leadership commitments, and for some bizarre reason I always ended up in one against my will.

Fortunately, thanks to the encouragement of supportive, loving and caring professors and advisors such as: Professor Campbell, Professor Broner, Mr. Green, and Kathy Glampe, I have begun to voluntarily accept more presentation opportunities as well as assuming leadership positions. For example, in February I had the privilege to present my McNair Summer Research to congress at the state capitol, and also went to present my research at the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Annual Convention & Expo in Seattle, Washington. In addition, as I get closer and closer to a teaching position after graduation, I feel more relaxed and the idea of teaching in front of a classroom no longer seems as frightening to me.      

I hope to represent St. Olaf College well, while living in the Twin Cities or wherever life ultimately takes me to teach. The spiritual, personal, academic experiences I have gained here have truly made me a better person and better Christian. Thanks to you, and others like yourselves, who give to the college, I have been able to live up to my biggest dreams and have had the time of my life. Even though I still have three weeks left on the hill, I am not ready to leave this beautiful place, nor leave all my friends who have become part of my extended family here in the state. After getting out into the real world, getting a stable teaching position, and getting adjusted to living out my adult life outside the college spectrum, it will be my turn to give unto others as you have given to me. I will like conclude, by saying, “Que Dios les bendiga y muchas gracias,” which translated into English is: May God bless you and thank you very much.