NAME:
Charlie Hernandez    

AGE:
21          

HOMETOWN:
Long Beach

MAJOR:
Business Administration & Mathematics      

LBCC ORGANIZATIONS, CLUBS OR SPORTS AFFILIATIONS:
Business & Economics Club

 

Q: How long have you attended LBCC?

A:   I’m working on my third year at LBCC.

 

Q: Why did you decide to attend LBCC?

A:  I went to LBCC because it was cost effective. GE’s are GE’s, whether it’s at LBCC or Harvard.

 

Q: What were your expectations when coming to LBCC?

A:   I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I started LBCC. Unfortunately, the community college system often gets a bad reputation simply because they accept everyone. However, during my time at LBCC, I’ve met a myriad of individuals whose knowledge far surpassed my own.

 

Q: What does LBCC mean to you?

A:  LBCC is proof that the American Dream is still alive and well. I didn’t come from the most financially secure background. However, LBCC provided the resources for me to attend. The school symbolizes that opportunities are out there, you just have to be willing to take them.

 

Q: Who is your role model?

A: Staff-wise, my role model is unquestionably my math professor that I had my first semester at LBCC, Nancy Mahan. While she was my Math professor, she took the time to discuss things beyond the walls of LBCC. I remember her quoting Hellen Keller, “The only thing worse than being blind is sight without vision.” I think as a professor, it’s probably much easier just to teach your subject and go home at the end of the day. However, Professor Mahan took the time to inspire students. It was the amalgamation of her knowledge of pedagogy and the fact that she cared about her students that made her so memorable. She additionally practices what she preaches and is currently pursuing a Ph. D.

 

Q: What is your biggest passion?

A: My biggest passion is in business. I’ve been a serial entrepreneur since high school. I admit to having a copious amount of projects that, for one reason or another, failed but I did not let my fear of failure inhibit me from trying again. Having a passion for business is what allowed me to have the strength to persevere when times get tough.  I have to believe that if I work hard enough, whether I’ve failed 50 times or 1,000 times, I will put something exceptional to fruition.

 

Q: In what way have you made an impact at LBCC?

A:  The word “have” to me implies that I’m done with trying to make an impact. I don’t mean to be overly technical, but I do believe that making an impact is a continual process. As President of the Business Club, I continually work on inspiring our members to follow their pursuits. 

 

Q: How has LBCC shaped you into your best self?

A:    As weird as it sounds, LBCC has shaped me into my best self by adding pressure to my life. I’m still learning how to more efficiently manage work and school but I don’t feel that all the stress is in vain.

 

Q: What advice would you have for new LBCC students?

A:  The best advice for new students is figuring out what you have a passion for. If you invest the time in yourself first, it will save you from so many headaches. It’s easy to just pick a random major and start an arbitrary educational plan. Nothing insanely wrong with that but you’ll most likely bounce between majors more times than a tennis ball at Wimbledon.

 

Q: If there is one thing LBCC has taught you, what would it be?

A:  I don’t say this pejoratively but LBCC has taught me how to do things by myself. At the start of college, there’s a lot of forms to fill out, a lot of offices to visit, a lot of emails to send out, but unlike high school, you have to be the one to get everything done. While all the resources are available, no one is quick to hold your hand so you have to figure it out. It’s not a steep learning curve, or insanely intimidating but it does give you your first dose into how “the real world” works.

 

Q: Where do you see yourself in the future?

A:   In the future, I see myself as being happy. I’d like to continue to be an entrepreneur and have the freedom to travel the world. My business partner and I have this in-running joke that when we finally scale a successful business and sell it, the first thing we’ll do is hike the Great Wall of China.

 

Q: What is one thing you would change about your experience here at LBCC?

A:  I wouldn’t change a thing about my experience at LBCC. As the age-old saying goes, “everything happens for a reason.” I would, however, like to take this space to thank  Doctor Jeff and Laura Wheeler, Professor Rajaram, Professor Hatch, Professor Corsnitz and Marcia Nystrom in the Honors office. They have all made LBCC a memorable experience.

 

Q: What are your professional goals?

A:  I currently have a few projects in the technology space and I also own a clothing line, Instagram @ViciThreads. I’m working on the website for my brand, so it should go live soon. I also have my real estate license so I hope to advance my sales techniques and eventually build a substantial commercial real estate portfolio. Since I was 16, I’ve been incredibly interested in the stock market and that’s the reason why I’m taking so many math courses. It gets difficult because I’m flooded with a sea of engineering majors and a lot of the math problems have applications in physics. Despite this, my goal is to leverage my skills in math & data science to create an automated system that buys and sales American-Style stock options.

 

Q: What do you plan to do after you leave LBCC?

A:  In a perfect world, I would like to invent the next Netflix/Facebook, sell it, and thus my biggest conundrum in life will be which color Lamborghini to take to In-n-Out. But in all seriousness, I would love to attend USC and major in Business with a minor in Financial Mathematics. My backup plan is UCLA, UCI or UCSD and get my degree in economics.