Photo Caption: The road to commencement for Esmeralda Hernandez was full of twists, turns, ups and downs, but nonetheless, she’s reached the finish line and will be one of nearly 4,000 students graduating from South Texas College this weekend. Photo courtesy STC Communications.
Amanda Sotelo, STC Communications
The road to commencement for Esmeralda Hernandez was full of twists, turns, ups and downs, but nonetheless, she’s reached the finish line and will be one of nearly 4,000 students graduating from South Texas College this weekend.
“This is more than a degree for me. This is a victory,” said the 51-year-old. “It was a hard, but amazing journey. I would do it all over again, and I will.”
Starting this fall, the McAllen native will return to STC to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership, but not before celebrating her associate degree in Criminal Justice.
Hernandez said she’s lived a tough life, and this achievement is her way of breaking the cycle of poverty, trouble and defiance.
“I come from a low-income family. We’ve always lived in the ‘ghetto’ and been around a lot of trouble,” she said. “There comes a time in your life when you realize that you are more than your environment, and even though it came with consequences for me, returning to school was the best decision I could have ever made.”
Homelessness and food insecurity were the consequences Hernandez had to live with to get to where she is today.
“I divorced my husband, he had no motivation to live a different life, with only the clothes on my back, my dog and my truck, where I lived for months,” said Hernandez.
Daily, Hernandez would shower at the Love’s Truck Stop and go to class, never hinting to anyone of her struggles.
“I didn’t want people to pity me or feel bad for me,” she said. “I made my decision, and I had peace with that, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard. I’m proud though, because it never broke me.”
Describing this era of her life as a brick wall, she said she found every way to go above, below or around it to reach her goal.
Eventually, the mother of three and grandmother to 13, did find help through STC and the Valley Initiative for Development an Advancement (VIDA), a nonprofit organization in the Rio Grande Valley that empowers low-income residents to achieve economic mobility.
“STC and VIDA are a lifeline for me,” said Hernandez. “There is no way I’m here today without them. They made me feel like a person that mattered and deserved an education, even though I had people in my life who didn’t believe I could do this or would judge me by my appearance and my past.”
With the help from STC and VIDA, Hernandez began to find some balance, even renting, what she said was a little, old apartment, that betrayed her when the roof caved in.
“Everything I have been through has shaken me so deep that I know I still need to heal, but nothing has stopped me from believing in God and helping others in my community,” she said.
As a Criminal Justice major and a person with a passion for helping others, every morning she helps to feed the homeless and share the word of God at nursing homes.
“I first wanted to go into law enforcement, but through my educational journey and as I’ve grown, things have changed and I want to help those who can’t defend themselves or are alone,” said Hernandez. “I don’t know the path that God is leading me too, but I do know I want to help and encourage others like me.”
Hoping that her story inspires others, Hernandez said that although her world has fallen apart time and time again and she’s lost people like her father, brother, grandmother and best friend, she is a survivor for a reason.
“Through all the hardship and all the heartbreak, I’ve made it for my children and my grandchildren so that they may never know the life I have lived,” she said. “I want them all to see that there is life outside of where we’ve been and that anything is possible. It’s never too late. I hope my journey has set that example.”
Her advice for others, “No matter your background or where you come from, you can make it to the top.”
“Use the ‘no’s’ and the ‘you can’t do it,’ as your motivators to prove to yourself that you can succeed,” she said. “I’ve had so many people tell me I couldn’t do this, but here I am, ready to graduate, break a generational cycle and make a better life for my family.”
STC’s spring Commencement Ceremonies will be held Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9 at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg.