From Culinary to the Visual
Student of the Week: Ana Lourdes Hernandez Flores
“South Texas College is a very friendly and welcoming community where you can start your dreams and path to achieve the professional career you want to pursue.”
From the culinary to the visual, Ana Lourdes Hernandez Flores is guided by her passion for the arts and the inspiration she is able to provide her children.
Born and raised in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz Mexico, Flores dreamed of pursuing an art career before earning her bachelor’s degree in elementary education at the Instituto Villa del Espiritu Santo in 2001. Today, Flores has returned to that dream at South Texas College as a visual arts student, deciding that it is “never too late to study for a second career and achieve your goals.” She aims to earn a bachelor’s in fine arts and to use her degree to teach art and create for herself.
As a teacher, Flores is hoping to share her knowledge and awareness about the importance of art in our daily lives.
Flores finds the value of art both in its creation and in the struggle to create. “The reward of learning that comes along with success or failure helps me to become better,” says Flores. “My motivation to succeed is to do what I love the most, which keeps me happy and inspires me to pursue my goals.”
Flores uses all that South Texas College has to offer in expressing her artistic passion. She is active in the STC Stick Club, a ceramic community that allows her to create her own pieces and participate in collective exhibitions, as well as The National Society of Leadership and Success and the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. She has been attending the Culinary Arts program at STC due to its ability to provide a safe environment to express both her artistic passion and love for baking.
“The pandemic changed everybody’s plans and I wanted to be able to experience the art studio life without so many restrictions,” says Flores, who chose South Texas College due to the program’s accessibility and diversity of art courses available. “The professors are welcoming and always eager to share their knowledge. They encourage you to work hard and be the best you can be. I’m very thankful for my professors’ support during my time at STC.”
What would she tell others thinking about STC? “South Texas College is a very friendly and welcoming community where you can start your dreams and path to achieve the professional career you want to pursue.”