Every single one of us has a story, whether we realize it or not. But it is up to us to use our experiences for good. Paul Hernandez in room 817 has made it his purpose to impact our youth here on Ridgeview campus, inside and outside of the classroom.
Looking back, he calls his time in high school “a rough four years”, he states it wasn’t because of his teachers or the campus culture, but because of his choices. Hernandez started out at Centennial High School after coming from a small private school, and found himself on a much bigger campus surrounded by many different faces. His first year at his new school Hernandez played football and basketball, but by his sophomore year is when it took a turn with his love for the game, “I loved basketball, but things weren’t going the way I wanted it to because of typical stuff like favoritism” said Hernandez. Conflicts between his coaches quickly drew him away from athletics, “I really let it affect me” Hernandez admits.
Sports is a common outlet for many students on Ridgeview campus, and it especially was for young Hernandez at Centennial High. His motivation for school began to slip without sports, his attendance became inconsistent, and he let his grades dip. By junior year Hernandez’s GPA dropped below a 1.0 eventually causing him to get expelled and sent to continuation school. This became a slap in the face for Hernandez. “I got all my grades back up,” said Hernandez. “I knew I wanted to graduate.
Returning to Centennial his senior year Hernandez understood that was not the school for him, costing him his place again. But he did not let his mishap drive him away from his goal and graduated five months later. Going into adulthood Hernandez helped his father in construction and after a year he decided to further his education and started Bakersfield College then transferred to CSU Bakersfield. Despite the mistakes he made in high school, Hernandez did not let it affect his future. Hernandez graduated CSUB at the top of his class and later got his masters degree at Cal State Los Angeles.
Hernandez speaks heavily about his faith and is constantly showing support like he had when he was struggling as a student. Hernandez’s failure and lessons became a motivation to share his story and remind students that mistakes don’t define you. “It’s easy to have faith when life is going well,” Hernandez said. “But when it’s not, that’s when you learn who you really are…and that’s when God can use your story to help others.”
