Hello Hernandez!

By Melissa Peralta, Editor-in-Chief

PAULA MULROONEY/The Shamrock

Principal Adam Hernandez is one of the new additions to the Kennedy family this year, but he is nowhere near a newbie when it comes to experience.

Hernandez received his undergraduate at University of California Riverside (UCR), his masters at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) and his doctorate at University of Southern California (USC). He grew up in a family where education was always important.

He was an assistant principal at three different high schools before coming to Kennedy: Foothill, Savanna, and Valley Christian. Before his administrative positions, Hernandez was a math teacher and a coach for cross country and basketball.

“I liked the idea of teaching and coaching, it just seemed like a good life balance,” Hernandez said. “My cross country and basketball coach was my math teacher, and I basically said I want to do what he does. That’s how I started teaching in ‘98.”

Despite only recently arriving at Kennedy, he said he already loves the environment of the school and collegiality among staff and students is unlike what he’s seen elsewhere.

“There appears to be a culture of care here on this campus among students,” Hernandez said. “Students generally care for other students…”

Hernandez plans to take the year to understand how the Kennedy family runs and where faculty can focus to ensure students have the best scholastic experience, whether it be in electives or required academic classes. For this reason, he won’t be making any major changes this school year.

Hernandez encourages students to “make a difference on Kennedy’s campus and be a champion for someone else and discover what that means for you.”