This 18-Year-Old Represents Students At MDC’s Monthly BOT Meeting

Diego Hernandez has always dreamt of helping others. 

“He was the kind of kid who liked to extend a helping hand to those who needed it,” said Hernandez’s mother, Zuley Moreno. 

But his dream to be a doctor or lawyer seemed unattainable because his family faced economic struggles in Cuba. 

Seeking a better life, they moved to the United States in 2016, but the transition was not easy. Hernandez faced constant bullying in elementary school.

“I got beat up because I didn’t know English,” Hernandez recalls.  “I didn’t know how to defend myself.”

Eventually, he learned. Now he is using his communication skills to do what he’s always wanted: to help others.

This summer, the 18-year-old was inducted as Student Government Association president at Homestead Campus. He will also serve as the student representative at Miami Dade College’s monthly Board of Trustees meetings during the 2025-26 academic year. 

As president, Hernandez wants to help students who, like him, have gone through the struggles of immigrating to a new country. 

“I have no doubt that he’ll leave a lasting impact, not just on his peers, but on the staff and the culture of our campus,” said Dandria Gray, Hernandez’s SGA adviser and the director of Student Life at Homestead Campus. 

Hernandez, a political science major, enrolled at MDC in 2024 after graduating from Somerset Academy Charter High School in Homestead a year early. To do so, he attended 11th grade at the campus while simultaneously completing the 12th grade online.  

However, before he left the school, the youngster made a life altering friendship with his English teacher, Alfred Jones, who complimented his writing. 

“I always thought of myself as a bad writer because I didn’t know English,” Hernandez said. “But Mr. Jones told me I was really good… around that time I fell in love with politics and history.”

Under Jones’ mentorship, Hernandez’s writing blossomed.

When he was 16, he released his first book, Diego’s Serenade of Thoughts. It’s a collection of poems based on self-discovery and his perspective of the world.

For the past year, he has produced a digital newsletter, Voice&Vision, that concentrates on politics, history and philosophy. It’s produced on an irregular schedule. 

“The purpose is to provide a platform for informed political dialog on creative expression and thoughtful opinion,” Hernandez said. 

As SGA president at Homestead Campus, he presides over the executive board, leads various committees and the senate board and represents the student body at events. 

The American Dream Scholar is scheduled to graduate from the College in the spring of 2026 with an associate degree in political science.  He aspires to practice international law and publish another book of poems and essays. 

“It brings me immense joy to see that the sacrifices we have put into providing him an economical and emotional support system has allowed him to flourish as a student and leader,” Moreno said. 

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