From Miami High and straight back, Mr. Hernandez is the school’s newest Probability and Statistics teacher! As an incredibly relatable and funny first-time teacher, he’s quickly made his way into the favorites of many this year.
Where Did He Start?
Mr. Hernandez was born and raised in South Florida: from Miami, to Allapattah, and now to Hialeah. He got his bachelor’s in computer science from Florida International University (FIU) around August of 2022, and he graduated from Miami Senior High as Class of 2019.
His childhood aspirations had to do with art and animation, and he aspired to work at Disney, but eventually came to the conclusion that it didn’t fit him.
Alongside his childhood aspirations, his general childhood revolved around his mother, his brother, and his uncle. “Those were the three that modeled me into the adult that I am,” he states, adding on that his brother remains his role model up until present day, admiring how humble and reserved he tends to be.
He describes his experience at Miami High as rather rigorous, describing himself as “That kid who wanted to take a bunch of APs.” In his time as a student, he took AP Physics, AP Language and Composition, AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Computer Science, and AP Literature. Out of these, he most recommends AP Physics if you’re looking for a challenge, and AP Calculus AB as he felt the curriculum ran very smoothly.
He was a member of FBLA and Interact during his time at Miami High, and during his senior year he was most involved in Interact, even performing in the Homecoming Parade of 2019. When in FBLA, he was able to bond with many people and even describes the club as the ultimate bonding experience. He competed in word processing and spreadsheets and won at regionals.
Life as a Teacher
Teaching was not always the path he wanted to take in terms of his career. He got his bachelor’s in computer science during the COVID-19 years, and originally intended to become a software engineer or anything that had to do with development because “that was what the boom was about,” he states. Unfortunately, the difficulty in finding a job in that field brought him to where he is now.
Miami High is known for the diverse culture it serves as one of Miami’s most populated schools: from Spirit Week, to Homecoming, and to the club events everybody loves, and that factor alone made Mr. Hernandez want to come back as a teacher, even though it wasn’t his initial choice of work. “You can see the culture of this school really come out, and that has to be a really big part as to why I wanted to come back,” he states.
Not only did the school’s culture influence his decision in giving teaching a try, but there was also one teacher in particular who left a great impact on him. This teacher in question was Ms. Munguia, Miami High’s very own Algebra 2 Honors and Advanced Placement Calculus AB teacher. He says, “She was my teacher for both subjects, and she pretty much made math fun.” He appreciates her ability to make such a rigorous and hated subject like mathematics enjoyable for him, which is something he believes a lot of teachers cannot do.
Even though he’s only been teaching for four months, he greatly enjoys doing so. His favorite part in the process is watching his students make that mental click of understanding a foreign concept in every new lesson he teaches, and also watching how they can easily apply what he teaches into their everyday lives.
Related to watching his students apply the knowledge he provides, he also most enjoys how applicable statistics really is. He says, “One thing my students have to realize is that the world is surrounded by statistics.” He likes helping his students bridge the gateway between the math they see in the classroom and the stuff they see outside, and how despite the common mentality that math won’t be seen again outside of school, statistics forever will be.
What Is He Into?
Outside of teaching, a day in Mr. Hernandez’s life revolves around his enjoyment for working out. “I find it as something more solitary for me and my mental health, or whatever the case may be,” he says.
Aside from that, he’s also very much into the world of video games. Some of his favorites include Terraria, Apex Legends, and World of Warcraft.
Given the opportunity where he could run a club, he would love to run something similar to what the B&G Dancers or R-Tech do. “Aside from that, I would be interested in starting a Stings E-Sports,” he says. He believes that with the wide variety of students at Miami High who enjoy video games and competitive playing, it would become a major club, stating his amazement as to why it hasn’t been established as a club already.
His favorite genre of music is pop, with his favorite song being “Ballad of a Badman” by Tory Lanez. He’s used the song as motivation for a variety of his workout sessions, which is why it made its way into his favorites.
His favorite movie is Baby Driver, saying, “Something about the way they mix the music and the action scenes is great.” His favorite T.V. show at the moment is Loki. Being a huge fan of Marvel, he finds it as one of the best ongoing shows he’s caught up with in a while.
His favorite book is The Giver. “It’s the only book I have truly ever finished, and it was great,” he states. He’s trying to get more into the swing of reading now that he’s a teacher but doesn’t necessarily find any interest in other books rather than that one.
Goals for the Future
Every goal and dream is a piece of Mr. Hernandez’s story that adds onto itself day after day. As previously mentioned when he wanted to pursue art and animation when he was a kid, career choices often change. A goal he’s set for himself to accomplish in the future is to build himself a career ladder because he’s unsure if he wants to continue teaching for the rest of his life.
“I’m only 22, and I’ve only been doing this for 4 months. I have had some bright spots so far, but to work my way up is what I’m planning and to find out where life takes me,” he says.
As for more goals he wishes to accomplish much sooner, he hopes that his students will come to realize there is always someone out there that likes to see them learning, likes to see them engaged, and someone that most importantly cares. He loves to show how passionate he is for teaching statistics, and even more enjoys seeing how passionate his students get in return.
Mr. Hernandez would eventually like to see and even teach more computer science classes. He often compares coding to building Lego blocks. “I learned it myself, and I think it’d be very cool to teach because it’s basically like a whole new language,” he says.
