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news:
Hernandez set
for next step
By Alex Roman
Summer Forty-Niner
Last spring's Associated
Students Inc.'s elections were filled with controversy and
an unprecedented runoff for all three executive offices. A.S.I.
treasurer Rosa Hernandez, after surviving unproven accusations
of illegal campaigning practices, is now about to take the
next step.
"I think it's
a natural thing to be nervous," says Hernandez, on the
brink of beginning her formal term. "But, after I find
out what's really expected of me, I think it's going to be
a huge reality check. I'm a little worried."
Hernandez, a 21-year-old
microbiology major, was born in Durango, Mexico, where her
father, Miguel, was a doctor and her mother, Maria, worked
in a lawyer's office.
The family moved
from Durango to California when Hernandez was five and about
to begin school.
"Ultimately,
we were here because of my mom and dad, the whole thing was
just for us," Hernandez says of her family's move. "My
parents had to go through a big transition that I don't really
remember going through. I didn't speak English, but the language
I eventually just picked up."
She would later
attend North High School in Torrance, where her deep involvement
in school lead her to her first taste for politics, serving
as Associated Student Body Treasurer.
If you ask Hernandez
how people close to her would describe her, she responds that
they would see her as a people person who loves to talk, hang
out and meet new people. In short she describes herself as
"easy going."
When you talk with
somebody who knows her well, her interpretations of herself
are right on the nose, but they are also willing to share
more.
"She is very
personable, that is definitely one of her strongest attributes,"
says her friend and A.S.I. government assistant Gyllian Carter.
"She is also very intelligent and very practical; there's
nothing she really can't handle."
Hernandez is a
very friendly and talkative person, whose correct pronunciation
of "Me-hee-co," exhibits her pride in who she is
and where she comes from. She also shows an excitement and
passion in her voice and eyes when discussing her job as treasurer,
and speaks appreciatively when reflecting on what her parents
did for her and her brother Miguel, who also attends Cal State
Long Beach.
"It's kind
of inspiring, to think they did all that stuff for me,"
says Hernandez. "I know there's a lot of people whose
parents made sacrifices like mine, but they just don't appreciate
it."
In fact, her dream
to become a doctor is rooted in wanting to give something
back to her father who gave up his dream of practicing medicine
in America to improve his family's life.
"I want to
be in medicine really bad, says Hernandez. "Right now
my grades aren't bad, but they're still not medical material.
But, I still have two years left and even if it takes me eighty
years to be a doctor, that's what I want to do. I want to
do it for myself because that's what I've always dreamt about,
but I also want to do it for my dad."
But that is, of
course, Hernandez's future goal; her present goals include
making a difference as A.S.I. treasurer and ending the negative
perceptions that students have of student government.
"Since I haven't
been in A.S.I. the whole time, I've heard the negative things
that people say," says Hernandez. "I want to change
those misconceptions that people have of A.S.I. because being
exposed to it now, I realize that all the bad stuff that people
say is not true."
While Hernandez
is apprehensive about discussing last spring's voting controversy,
she is quick to offer solutions to end students' misconceptions
of student government.
"I think if
you're just me, me, me and this what you're going to do, and
this is what you're going to change, that's fine," says
Hernandez. "But it's for the students, so we need to
get them involved and get them to help as well."
On the eve of her
proper introduction to what her job description actually entails,
Hernandez is both nervous and excited. She knows some of the
larger responsibilities that she has, but is still not sure
of all that is expected of her.
A.S.I. President
Wayne Stickney-Smith explained just how simple and important
the treasurer job is.
"Her importance
will be huge," says Stickney-Smith. "She is the
person that is in charge of making sure that our corporation
is financially sound for the whole year."
Former A.S.I. treasurer
and current Vice-President Danny Vivian believes Hernandez
is very up to the test ahead of her.
"She's a great
people person, and that will be very helpful because you have
to deal with so many students," says Vivian. "I
think she's really going to do a great job.'
Like the descriptions
of herself, everyone you speak to seems to have the same faith
in Hernandez that she will do a good job.
"I honestly
believe that she is definitely the best person for the job,"
says Carter.
Stickney-Smith
also seems to agree with Hernandez's qualifications and added
what exactly she will bring to A.S.I. this fall.
"Rosa is a
very spirited person and she has a lot of pride in our university,"
he says. "Rosa will be more than just a job person, she's
going to bring to our administration her personality. She
has the ability to get along with a lot of different people,
and I look forward to working with her."
In her free-time
-- which she seemingly has very little of -- Hernandez loves
playing basketball and dancing, as well as remaining active
in different groups and organizations on campus including
La Raza, the Women's Resource Center and the Health Resource
Center.
She still lives
in Gardena with her parents, her older brother Miguel Jr.
and her little brother Angel, who was born in America.
When asked why
she has chosen to be so involved, Hernandez finds no simple
answer.
"I don't know,
I just love it," she says. "I'm so passionate about
it because I have been exposed to it, but I also want to help
other people understand it and be able to know how to cut
through all the red tape."
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