Texas Border Business
By Amanda Sotelo
Ramiro “Ram” Hernandez’s educational journey has taken him all the way to Philadelphia and Boston, but now he’s back at where it all started – South Texas College, as a Harvard researcher helping to continue the mission of creating a college-going culture for one of the nation’s largest Hispanic-Service Institutions (HSI).
Hernandez said leaving the Rio Grande Valley and now returning, has given him the chance to reflect on his own success as a Hispanic student and he hopes the research he is set to conduct will help others like him realize that anything is possible.
“We have great thinkers in our region and in our culture, and I hope I can encourage others to express themselves,” said the 23-year-old. “I hope I can inspire them to believe in themselves and utilize the resources that community colleges like STC offer. I am proud to have started my journey at STC and others should feel the same pride, because community colleges are unique in that they transform regions and create multigenerational change.”
Hernandez is leading The Project on Workforce at STC, an initiative that highlights the valuable role community colleges play in their regional workforce and economic ecosystems.
The Project on Workforce is a collaborative effort between the Harvard Kennedy School’s Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, the Harvard Business School’s Managing the Future of Work Project and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, from which Hernandez recently earned his master’s degree.
“STC is already implementing a lot of what our research entails, from workforce and economic development and partnerships to utilizing advanced technologies for teaching and training,” said Hernandez. “So, I hope my research and reports can find any gaps in already successful initiatives to help continue improving what STC offers students like me.”
Hernandez first arrived and became familiar with STC as a dual credit student, earning his associate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2018, before even graduating high school.
At the same time, Hernandez motivated his mother to enroll, inspiring a family tradition. Already holding an associate degree from STC, she returned to the college to pursue a bachelor’s degree, which she earned in 2022.
Today, his father is also enrolled in STC’s Automotive Technology program.
“We motivated each other. It was a great experience getting to do this with her,” he said. “We helped each other navigate the challenges of college, a first time for both of us, and now, we get to help my dad. STC offers something for everyone and I’m grateful for the opportunities it has afforded my family.”
Since his time at STC, Hernandez has gone on to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree; become a Mellon Mays Fellow, which provides students with mentoring and financial support to enter a doctoral program and continue their work toward becoming scholars and faculty members and eventually work in reform, policy making and political transition teams.
His ultimate goal is to become a faculty member at a community college to payback the lessons, opportunities and kindness that STC has shown him and his family.
“STC is diversifying education and sending students like me out into the world to represent our area, our culture and everything we have to offer,” said Hernandez. “It’s lifting entire families out of poverty and I’m excited to be back and to have, even if just for a moment, a little part in what STC is doing.”
