2022年度杰出校友

While the path to her current career as an immigration attorney has taken many twists, Wendy Hernandez says each step proved a necessary part of her journey. “事后看来, I now can see that those were not times of detour but times of direction,她解释道.

这些经历包括在WWU工作了16年, during which she completed her bachelor of 社会工作 while she and her husband, 塞吉奥, 给家里添了两个孩子. 同时在学生健康中心兼职做护士, Wendy partnered with residential deans and student administration to create the Student Assistance Center to help rather than discipline students with substance abuse issues. “这份工作非常值得，”她说.

1993年在世界大学获得社会工作硕士学位后, 温迪担任大学咨询中心主任. 然后，在2000年，她去了冈萨加大学的法学院.

这些经历, 再加上她在阿拉斯加一个岛屿保留地的童年, 是什么影响了温蒂从事移民法工作的愿望. “My approach to my work is guided by a core belief that God wants all people to be treated equally,她说。. “每天我都从那些智慧的宗教中汲取智慧, 英语, 社会学, 社会工作, and psychology professors who prepared me to work with people from around the world.”

Meanwhile, Wendy’s children have grown up, attended WWU, married, and had children of their own. Now she and 塞吉奥 are anticipating new experiences with their WWU legacy. “要人

Walla University was the center of our lives for so many years,” Wendy says. “We’re looking forward to being a part of our grandchildren’s experience at WWU.”

学术对阿曼来说并不容易. Grant when he arrived at 沃拉沃拉大学 to pursue a major in theology. “The classroom was a painful place since I struggled to retain information from the lectures. 与同龄人相比，我学得很慢，”他回忆道. “I fought the call to be a preacher because I didn’t know how I was going to get through school.”

Aman applied the 韧性 he had learned in athletics to his studies, 很快，写作实验室就成了我的第二个家. He recalls the support of deans, professors, and spiritual leaders on campus. In particular, he remembers the hours Wendy Hernandez spent counseling him.

“The story of a dreamer named Joseph motivated me to prioritize my mental [and] emotional health,阿曼说. “I am living my dreams because I chased them as they developed here at 沃拉沃拉大学.”

Those dreams ultimately led Aman to complete his master of divinity degree and join the U.S. 海军, where he serves as the command naval chaplain in San Diego and consultant for spiritual resiliency for the commanding officer of 海军 Region Southwest.

阿曼继续运用治愈的经验, 韧性, and leadership that began at WWU in his work helping the 海军 face challenges among its members. He is also committed to raising his young son, Jo Jo, in a spiritually and emotionally healthy home.

今天的学生们, Aman’s guidance is clear: “Start understanding and submitting to the person and power of the Holy Spirit now. Once you have that piece in place, then you can start chasing God’s dream for your life early.”

The dream of an orphan girl in Bolivia was realized in her granddaughter, 梅莉萨(叶子)悉尼, 当梅莉萨进入澳门威尼斯人直营网站时. “Being the first person in my family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree came with its own unique challenges,梅丽莎解释道. “有时, 我觉得我必须独自做出重大决定，独自面对挑战, 没有一个知道怎么做的家人给我建议.”

Mellissa, 她在大学时叫弗朗西丝, 投入到这些挑战中，并充分利用了她在WWU的时间. “WWU was a place that allowed for the open expression of differing viewpoints, which in turn led to well-rounded discussions and learning from each other’s life experiences,她说。. 气候, 再加上志愿服务和为他人服务的机会, 为梅丽莎的医学生涯做好了准备.

After graduating from WWU and earning her master’s degree at Heritage University, Mellissa headed to medical school at Pacific Northwest University of 健康 Sciences and then became chief resident in her residency program in Detroit, 密歇根.

她的住院实习期刚刚结束, 梅丽莎和她的丈夫, 罗恩, 要回西北去吗, 梅莉萨将在那里做急诊室医生. Her goals include making deeper connections and showing God’s love to those around her while continuing to work with underserved communities and mentoring under-represented minority students.

梅莉萨今天的目标和她刚来世界大学时一样明确. “对我来说, success is a mindset of continually persevering through failure after failure while having the wisdom to evolve, 在场, and find joy throughout the journey toward your most deeply valued goals,她说。.

沃拉沃拉深深扎根于大卫. The child of two WWU alumni, he knew by seventh grade his future was in teaching. “我是一个正式的13岁理想主义者, 我想知道如果我是老师，情况会有什么不同,他回忆道. “I imagined not a classroom as was common then but learning environments as they could be, and I stepped into my career believing it was possible to make them real.”

That belief led David to WWU for a degree in elementary education with minors in religion, 体育课, 和生物学, which he believed would be valuable when he moved into his own classroom. “It was here that I first had an instructor deliberately ask me to think and value those thoughts,他说.

From WWU, David and his wife, Karen, moved to the Adventist school in Roseburg, Oregon. 他们一起创建了一个教室社区, 被称为“Vixie村”,” the first of many creative learning environments David brought to students across the West Coast. David expanded those skills by returning to WWU for a master’s in curriculum development.

今天, 你可能会在外面看到大卫和他的学生, where they might be learning history while traveling in a covered wagon or putting to sea on the deck of a 19th-century sailing ship. 设计和建造篱笆使三角学变得有形, 当你站在移民队伍中时，历史变得鲜活起来.

虽然大卫在他的职业生涯中获得了无数的奖项, his focus remains on what he can do to serve students and help them flourish. “My strength comes from God,他说, “and strength is for service, not for status.”