19
February
2019
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08:44 AM
America/Chicago

Student at STC looks to impact environment through engineering

Student of the Week: Jazmin Hernandez

Feb. 17-23 is national engineers week. Founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1951, EWeek is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. Each year, EWeek reaches thousands of schools, businesses, and community groups across the U.S.

Jazmin Hernandez says focusing on her future career as an engineer has been inspired by a personal outlook on the environment and from conservation efforts by professionals who can use their expertise to make the world a better place.

Jazmin began at STC in the fall of 2017, and has commuted from Los Fresnos, a roughly 45 minute drive, in order to take classes on campus. She is currently pursuing her Associate of Science in Engineering degree from STC and said she looks forward to a career in environmental engineering, preferably in the field of water treatment.

“I knew I wanted to do something to help the environment because I took an environmental science class and I really got into it. It became my favorite class,” Jazmin said. “I didn't even know that environment engineering was a thing until I took an engineering class in high school.”

Deeply affected by the water crisis in Flint, Jazmin says she looks to one day use her training to prevent incidents like that from ever happening again.

“I always see in the paper how there are lots of people without water even in the United States, so I want to do something to help,”
Student of the Week Jazmin Hernandez

“I always see in the paper how there are lots of people without water even in the United States, so I want to do something to help,” she said. “In Flint, their city was built so long ago that they didn't bother to redevelop it. They had lead piping that they didn’t bother to replace, even though lead piping isn't even legal in the United States anymore.”

The Associate of Science degree with a field of study in Engineering offers students the opportunity to take a core curriculum of general education with an emphasis on Engineering. At the present time, over two-thirds of all the technical and a large percentage of the managerial positions in industry are occupied by engineers.

“To those students looking to get ahead, I would tell them to not overestimate themselves,” Jazmin said. “You have to know what you're capable of, but don't try and force yourself to do stuff that you know you can't do because you're just going to struggle in the end and then you'll probably want give up. You have to know your limits.”