Nelson Hernández

Nelson Hernández was a transfer student from West Palm Beach, FL. At first sight of Massachusetts, he was awe-struck, "What have I gotten myself into?!" However, after a short time, Hampshire gained a special place in his heart.

In fact, after graduating from Hampshire College in Dec. 2012/Jan. 2013, Nelson went on to accept a job at the college. For the spring semester of 2013, Nelson was the Student Government Alumni Fellow. He advised and supported the students of the SGA Planning process.

Since leaving Hampshire College, Nelson gained employment in social work. Within child protective services, he will use his Hampshire experience to advocate with the oppressed and challenge the institutions that often treat us unfairly. Eventually, it will lead him to an advanced, academic program. This page remains as an archive of his life between 2009 and 2012.

= Early Life =

Nelson was born in Havana, Cuba where he lived for 4½ years of his life. His great grandmother had previously left the country, in the 1960s, however her daughter chose to remain. After Nelson was born, his grandmother obtained U.S. Residency, as she traveled back and forth from Cuba to the United States, visiting her mother. Through her residency, on March of 1995, Nelson and his parents were able to permanently move to the United States. They settled down in Miami Beach, FL - where he started kindergarten that fall.



On January 1, 1996, his brother, Randy, was born and the four of them lived in a little apartment, in South Beach. Although they loved the city, the apartment was too small for the four of them and they eventually moved up to West Palm Beach. Life was more stable thereafter. As he grew older and experienced life's highs and lows - along with some not-so-average "adventures" - he learned a way of interpreting the world.

= Academics =

Palm Beach State College
After graduating high school, in the spring of 2008, Nelson entered Palm Beach State College. There were a few factors that influenced his decision: lack of funds, proximity to family and an ignorance of the college system. In those days, he had decided to pursue a career in Psychiatry, and so, along with his general education requirements, he took a healthy dose of pre-med courses! Alongside his coursework, he was very involved on campus. Ultimately, this played a big role in his acceptance into Hampshire College.

Extracurricular
ASPIRA Club (Jan 2009 - Aug 2010)


 * Served as President from May 2009 - May 2010
 * Club of the Year Winner at Lake Worth Campus

Students Working for Equal Rights (Sept 2009 - May 2010)


 * Co-Founder of group in Lake Worth Campus
 * Served as Core Leader from Sept 2009 - Dec 2009

Delta Omicron Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (Jan 2009 - May 2010)


 * "5-Star Member" Award Winner
 * Leadership Award Winner ('09 & '10)

Student Government Association (Oct 2009 - May 2010)


 * Voting member in Student Senate from Sept 2009 - May 2010

Student Activities Budget Committee (Aug 2009 - May 2010)


 * Committee met once each semester to discuss allocation of Student Activities Fund

Division I
Distribution Requirements:


 * CS: AP Computer Science A
 * CSI: AP U.S. Government & Politics
 * HACU: World Literature Before the Renaissance (LIT2110)
 * IA: College Composition 1 (ENC1101)
 * NS: Introduction to Chemistry (CHM1025)

Electives:


 * Survey of Calculus (MAC2233)
 * College Composition 2 (ENC1102)
 * Music Appreciation (MUL1010)

Concentration

 * As I do not consider myself to be an academic, all of my college work is based around my prospective career goals. Ultimately, I would like to work in the field of clinical psychology. Specifically, I am most interested in working with families, children and adolescents. From my experience, the issues surrounding identity development and expression are the most prominently in conflict among these groups.


 * In preparation for an advanced degree, towards becoming a practicing clinical psychologist, much of my Division II will be spent acquiring general psychological knowledge and the tools necessary to continue growing this knowledge.


 * I also have research questions that will contribute to my understandings of identity development and expression. What are the best methods for studying how children and adolescents develop a concept of identity? How do they give meaning to this development, as well as the identity itself? Do their families (however they may be defined) have a prominent role in this development; which factors contribute to this involvement? Similarly, how do familial interactions shape the ways that identity is expressed? I'm also interested in the ways that we can, and when we can, attribute these questions to the society at-large, as well as to specific cultural backgrounds.


 * Throughout my Division II, I will ask these questions to three different fields of study: biology, specifically neuroscience; psychology; and feminist theory (with a slight overlap into queer theory). This will allow me to create a broader, more interdisciplinary mindset that I hope will guide my clinical work.

Division III

 * Title:
 * Relocating Oppressed Identities within a Tripartite Self-Concept: A Qualitative Study of the Social Collective, Individuality, and the Interrelational, as Demonstrated by a Queer Population of Color

Project Description

 * In my Division II studies, I looked at how different aspects of “identity” are formulated within various disciplines. To elaborate, in the brain-focused sciences, there are very rigid, scientifically-based steps and categories of identity and of its development. Critical social theories, however, offer different views in that they question the social environments which have constructed or allowed these identities to develop. The way that I have defined “identity,” throughout this work, has been as a membership in any oppressed social group, such as sexual, racial, and cultural “identities.” These were the main areas of focus, in my Division II, but for my Division III project I am looking outside of identity and envisioning a whole person, while still incorporating what I have learned.


 * My research topics can more easily expressed as questions: “How do people perceive themselves, or think about themselves and who they are?” Immediately following this question, I am inclined to ask, “When and how do people change the perceptions, or conceptions, that they have of themselves?” These are the most fundamental questions, throughout my Division III studies.


 * In terms of the first question, there are a few ways in which people can fulfill these processes. Each person has an intrapsychic functioning which provides the capacity for us to see ourselves as individuals – separate from other human beings. Interpersonal relationships can also facilitate the aforementioned developments, particularly when they are with very close others, such as family members or romantic partners. Of course, there are also the identities, which were discussed at the very beginning, which will form a huge part of one’s concept of who one is, or self-concept. In my project, I focus on these three elements and argue that a self-concept can be best described through them. Incidentally, it is likely that some of these elements are more important than others, in a person’s self-concept; one may not even be present in some people.


 * The second question is the ultimate goal of this project, while the first is necessary to create the foundation on which we discuss this one. To rephrase this question, I ask, “What are the moments in which a person experiences a situation so drastic that it has a long-lasting effect on that person’s self-concept; and, how is that person’s self-concept changed, as a result of the experience?” For example, what occurs in a person who is forced to move to attend a college which is so far away from a family to which he is closely bonded? Another example is one in which a parent is forced to accept their child for an aspect of their child’s life that is immensely taboo to the parent’s cultural understanding. What is it, within the parent, which struggles to accept this new aspect? What was the process like, for the child, to understand herself in relation to the cultural understandings that she was taught be her parent(s)? Most importantly, what do these people look like, to themselves, after they have dealt with these self-conflicts?


 * Aside from reviewing, condensing, and molding the literature, so that it fits my own needs, I include practical data, in my project. By conducting several interviews over the summer, I further advance my arguments and understandings with real and lived experiences. Most importantly, I hope that this project can give a voice to people who have been historically excluded from these discourses. It has been a practice of science and psychology to remove people of color and sexual minorities from the focus of these topics. Therefore, to people who include these identities within their self-concepts, we ask the same two questions. The analysis of these data shows the ways in which these groups of people compare and contrast to those outcomes which have been historically focused on white and heterosexual populations. Is there a difference in the way that these oppressed groups know themselves?

Extracurricular
SGA Creation Taskforce/Planning Committee (Mar 2012 - Dec 2012)


 * Served as Co-Chair since Mar 2012 - May 2012

Sexperts (Sept 2011 - May 2012)

Search Committee: Director of the Library (Sept 2011 - Feb 2012)

School of Critical Social Inquiry (Feb 2011 - Sept 2012)


 * Served as a Voting Member from Feb 2011 - Nov 2011

Re-Rad (Sept 2010 - May 2012)

Raíces (Sept 2010 - Dec 2012)


 * Served as a Signer from Sept 2012 - Dec 2012

QIPOC (Sept 2010 - Dec 2012)


 * Served as a Signer from Jan 2011 - Dec 2011

Mi Cuba (Sept 2011 - May 2012)


 * Served as a Signer from Sept 2011 - May 2012

Hampedia Board of Trustees (Nov 2010 - May 2012)

Financial Committee (FiCom) (Sept 2010 - Jan 2012)


 * Served as Community Liason from Jan 2011 - Dec 2011

Community Council (Apr 2011 - Jan 2012)


 * Served as Secretary from Sept 2011 - Jan 2012
 * Served as At-Large Representative from Apr 2011 - Jan 2012

Community Advocacy Union (Feb 2012 - May 2012)

Committee on Community Development (CoCD) (Mar 2012 - Dec 2012)

= Work Experience =

Hampshire College
Student Government Alumni Fellow (Feb 2013 - May 2013), Amherst, MA


 * Collaborate with student volunteers to finalize planning documents for the new student government, including the development of an effective plan of implementation.
 * Assist with managing logistics for launching the new student government, including planning, attending, and facilitating meetings, drafting documents, gathering campus input and feedback, and supporting student leaders.
 * Assist with the implementation of all aspects of the new student government, including regular student “town meetings” and student government “scope groups.”
 * Update information about the student government planning and implementation process on the College’s website.
 * Meet as needed with College administrators, including but not limited to the President and Dean of Students, to provide process updates and to gather input.
 * Provide day-to-day logistical support to the student government.
 * Perform other related duties as assigned by the Senior Associate Dean of Students.

Supervisor: Josiah Litant / (413) 559-6666

Harold F. Johnson Library
Circulation Assistant (Jan 2011 - Jan 2013), Amherst, MA


 * Staff the circulation desk and manage the check-in books.
 * Assist library patrons with check-out and research needs.
 * Assist administrative staff with special projects.
 * Responsible for shelving accuracy of library materials.

Supervisor: Suzanne Karanikis / (413) 559-5762

Democracia U.S.A.
Census Project Coordinator (May 2010 - Jul 2010), Palm Beach County, FL


 * Performed Census Outreach to Hispanic Communities
 * Circulated a "Pledge to Complete the Census" Form
 * Planned events to help promote the Census
 * Supervised canvassers who did further community outreach
 * Organized meetings with church & organization leaders

Supervisor: Natalie Carlier / (561) 429-2160

Palm Beach County Main Library
Student Employee (Apr 2008 - Sept 2009), West Palm Beach, FL


 * Responsible for shelving accuracy of library materials.
 * Assisted administrative staff with special projects.
 * Assisted library patrons with reading and research needs.
 * Translated for library patrons with language barriers.

Supervisor: Carol Gropp / 561-233-2600

= Footnotes =