"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
– Nelson Mandela
Educational equity doesn’t always start at the top. Sometimes it starts with a student standing up to say, “I want to learn and if you can’t offer me those opportunities, I’ll teach myself.” Wendy Hernandez is such a student.
Born in the U.S. of immigrant parents, her father from Mexico and mother from El Salvador, Hernandez is the oldest of 3 children, and so far, the only one in the family to have completed high school.
High school is where her story begins, not far from downtown L.A. where, like most teens, she spent her spare time looking at social media on her phone. Hernandez saw images of icebergs melting and searched for information on climate change. Intrigued, and interested in learning more, she contacted her high school biology teacher and asked if they could learn about environmental science. Neither her teacher nor the school administration supported her request for additions to the science curriculum.
For most students that would’ve been the end of it, but not for Hernandez. Not only did she continue to read and conduct research on her own, but she formed the Earth Club so she could share what she learned with fellow students. The club grew to about 30 students, showing the need for a science club. Though Hernandez has moved on to CPP, the club continues.
“Geology isn’t just about studying the planet. It can help the community with things like water and soil quality,” Hernandez said.
The Earth Club learned about climate change, earthquakes, water conservation, and other environmental concerns, including environmental justice. Hernandez found that low-income communities like hers didn’t always have a choice when it came to drinking water and pollution-free air.
At CPP, Hernandez found a mentor in geological sciences Professor Stephen Osborn, whose background includes testing groundwater for contamination from oil drilling. She graduated with her B.S. degree in May and is currently working on her master’s degree at CPP.
“I feel so lucky to be here. I never saw anyone in my family even go to college,” Hernandez said.
Her dedication to learning is still strong, demonstrated by the sacrifice of traveling two hours by bus from Koreatown to CPP every day and two hours home. In addition to that she works a full-time, minimum wage job at a bakery and takes care of her brother who has been diagnosed with autism.
Under Osborn’s guidance she’s been able to pursue her passion for environmental justice. The research she’s conducting is a continuation of her undergraduate research into water quality in urban areas.
“My project is to study stormwater runoff. We collect rain samples and compare them to stormwater runoff. The difference tells us what contaminants might be in the environment,” Hernandez said. Some of the sampling was from her Koreatown neighborhood and the L.A. River. “We had two samples with arsenic concentrations above the EPA Primary Drinking Water Standards. There were also concentrations of barium and lead above standards in several samples.”
Hernandez’s dream is to work as a field hydrogeologist with the ultimate goal of improving her community. She said, “We shouldn’t have water that’s just good enough. It should be great for everyone.”
“Wendy is an inspiration to me,” Professor Osborn said. “The urban runoff project was her idea along with another student that lives in Los Angeles. I only helped them develop it into active research with interesting water quality results. She is a great example of hard work and enthusiasm leading to success which, I’m confident will continue through her career.”
Hernandez shared that “The professor’s passion and enthusiasm really shows when they’re lecturing. They take their time, recognizing that everyone has different learning skills. Dr. Osborn helped me whenever I was struggling. He would always be there during office hours, drawing pictures for me of hydrology concepts. That’s very special, you don’t find that everywhere.”