Jose with SMC Director of Marketing Rebecca Agonafir, Carlota, and Power 106 DJ Carisma
Jose Hernandez brings not just counseling expertise to the position of Associate Dean of Outreach, Onboarding & Student Engagement at Santa Monica College but also his experience as a first-generation college graduate.
A lover of cars, he wanted to be a mechanic when younger. Now, though, instead of making autos run more smoothly, he aids students in their drive to achieve their potential. The support he received at SMC sparked that passion, and he says the college has connected him to the best experiences of his life.
That includes meeting his wife of 24 years and counting while an SMC student. So he’s come a long way from his teenage years, when, he admits, “I didn’t even know if I’d ever attend college.”
In fact, his first visit to SMC only happened because he wanted to get out of classes at Venice High School. “I signed up for a field trip and got on the bus with no idea about what I was going to do when I got to the campus,” Jose recalls.
He ended up registering for a summer program in English and speech, and his SMC experience began. He admits that it was an inauspicious debut. “I ended up being a student at SMC for six years, on and off, because I didn’t know what I was doing,” Jose says. “I was too scared to ask questions and didn’t even apply for financial aid.”
Defining Experience
Jose’s trajectory changed when he met then-Associate Dean of School Relations Maria Bowser, who oversaw SMC’s high school outreach at the time. Coincidentally, she had also been a college counselor at Venice High and remembered him because of a scholarship he had received from the Fulfillment Fund. Earning that award — which aims to make college possible for students growing up in under-resourced communities — suggests that Jose was more of a scholar that he thought.
The interaction with Maria set Jose on the path to helping students transform their own lives as a counselor at SMC. “She offered me a job, and I didn’t think twice,” he says.
Being a student worker in School Relations not only let Jose help prospective students learn about SMC’s advantages, but it also enabled him to become more comfortable in his own college experience. “They saw things in me that I hadn’t seen myself,” Jose says of Maria and the rest of the staff.
Once, Maria took him back to Venice High, saying she wanted him to learn the ropes by watching her make a presentation. “The room was filled with parents and students, and she introduced herself,” Jose recalls. “Then she said, ‘And here to talk about Santa Monica College is Jose Hernandez.’ She had the confidence that I could do it, and that’s one of the things I loved about her.”
As Maria entrusted Jose with more duties, he also enjoyed building relationships with the college’s faculty and staff — both as a student and as an apprentice in training. This included now-retired Political Science Professor Harvey Stromberg, who has a lecture hall named after him on campus and used to host a talk show for KCRW. “I loved the way he taught history in a comical way that always told a story,” Jose recalls.
Despite his new boss Maria’s faith in his abilities, Jose still felt like he was flying under the radar. So he was surprised when Harvey entered the outreach office and both recognized him and remembered the grade he had received. “From then on, a friendship grew, and he would always check in on me,” Jose remembers. Their bond also inspired him to major in history.
When the time came for Jose to transfer for his bachelor’s degree, Maria insisted he raise his sights to UCLA. “If not for her, I wouldn’t have applied there, because I didn’t think I’d get in,” he confesses. “So when the acceptance package came, I practically fell off my chair.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA, Jose turned to Loyola Marymount University for his master’s in school counseling. But he knew he would someday come back to SMC.
Fostering Futures
Jose was offered a counseling position at Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica before even finishing his graduate degree. After a time, he earned tenure there. When he heard about an opportunity at SMC, though, he applied immediately — even though it wasn’t full time. “I left a tenured position for a part-time job,” he says with a chuckle.
Having returned to the institution he loved, Jose made up the difference in income by becoming a part-time counselor at another community college.
In 2013, his dedication was rewarded with a full-time position at SMC’s Welcome Center. “I had achieved my dream,” he says, although he “felt horrible” about having to leave the other community college. “I told them I was sorry, but SMC was closer to home — and to my heart.”
In a way, of course, the college is his home. “SMC has meant so much to me,” he says. “I feel blessed and fortunate to have this job, because how many truly get to be paid for doing what they love?”
Ultimately, Jose sees SMC as the place where he found himself — and that journey of self-discovery is what he hopes all incoming students can enjoy. So he remains as passionate as ever about his part in the inspirational SMC community.
“As a student at SMC, I had people looking out for me,” Jose says — and that supportive watchfulness is what he now brings to new generations of students.
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SMC in Focus Volume X, Issue 6
From SMC to MIT
SMC alumni Daniela Davalos and Les Armstrong became graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to pursue their respective passions for safer spaceflight and fighting climate change. Read Article
Jazzed to be at USC
Serendipity and a solid thumbs-up from jazz legend Stanley Clarke helped this promising young vocalist find her place on the bandstand. Read Article
Committed Counselor
Personal reasons drive Associate Dean Jose Hernandez’ passion for ensuring that all new students are supported in their academic journey at SMC. Read Article
Doing Her Duty
Career counselor Jessica Trachtenberg is changing students’ lives at the place that changed hers, with creativity, heart, and a joyous sense of duty. Read Article
Bragging Rights
A Geology instructor makes it to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. SMC Fashion students turn unsaleable garments into treasures. A Life Science instructor helps release endangered butterflies. Read Article
Architecture’s Back!
Architecture has made a comeback at SMC, just in time to prepare Corsairs for a field that is evolving in the information age. Read Article