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“Singular.” “Unusual.” “Dedicated.” “Self-aware.”

That’s how David Hernández describes �Ӱ���̳ students — and why he says, “I've thoroughly enjoyed teaching them.”  

“They want to be challenged,” he says. “Because of the diversity of the College, they are white and non-white, domestic and international. They are from multiple class backgrounds. It's really just a tremendous experience to teach them.” 

Hernández studies immigration enforcement, specifically immigrant detention, which is how immigrants are confined pursuant to deportation. He’s taken classes to prisons to visit detainees — and he and a colleague and students published an article about the experience. 

He worked closely with students when he directed the SAW (Speaking, Arguing and Writing) Center, overseeing them as they offered peer-to-peer guidance. “It’s a tremendous resource on campus — and it even continued during the COVID crisis last spring,” he says. “It is open remotely this fall. A lot of students and faculty were concerned about that and we’re all glad that the College is prioritizing it.”

In his new role as faculty director of the Community-based Learning program, operating remotely this year, Hernández guides the very important relationship that �Ӱ���̳ students have with the local communities, including Springfield and Holyoke. 

“I am working with faculty and assessing what they need for their classrooms and then providing them with a CBL mentor for their class, to remotely connect students to the community.”