Giving diverse students a voice through student government

Original story published on The Nightly Beat

WASHINGTON – Walking into the Kevin Sutherland Student Government Office, Valentina Fernández, the president of student government, was standing in the hallway talking on the phone with campus police asking for someone to come open the door because she got locked out.

“There’s only one key and someone left it inside the room and let’s be honest it was probably me,” the American University student said, laughing about the situation.

Taking a seat in the empty waiting room outside her office, Fernández recalls how she never thought her life would take a turn for political science when moving to the U.S. at the age of 9 and not knowing any English.

Fernández was born in Venezuela, but at the age of 5, she and her mother moved to Puerto Rico with her stepfather, who was from there. They lived in Puerto Rico until she was 9, when they decided to move to Orlando, Florida.

Although Fernández and her mother didn’t know any English and her stepfather spoke the basics, they moved on a whim hoping it would bring more opportunities.

Starting school in the third grade was academically challenging for Fernández because students needed to take the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test to move up a grade.

“Even though my mom didn't talk any English, we would sit down with the English-Spanish dictionary, translating word by word, looking at the phonetics,” said Fernández. “We did that every night.”

This instilled very early on a work ethic and value of education that would, later on, lead to Fernández’s interest in giving back to communities like those she was a part of growing up.

“She keeps her eyes on what matters, she knows her strength and pursues the public good,” said Lara Schwartz, a professor in the American University School of Public Affairs who worked closely with Fernández.

Fernández continued to work hard in school. She attended a performing arts magnet school rather than the public school she was zoned to attend; she wanted more opportunities in her future.

Fernández had not really thought about college and what that meant until she was interviewing for scholarship opportunities; the process changed her perspective on her life.

“I realized that I was the only woman and the only woman of color in the room, which was interesting because I'd never thought about my identity in that way,” said Fernández. “Until I was in a space where I was the only one, I completely shifted what I said in my interview.”

She realized she wanted to do something to give access and education to underrepresented communities. She wanted to give them a chance to follow a path like the one she was on.

Before becoming student president at American, Fernández was the first Latina student to hold a position as the student trustee. It was on the Board of Trustees that she continued to see the gap between access students had to information the board did.

“I tried to take in those experiences and use the time intentionally to highlight the student experience and particularly to the experiences of students that typically don't have their feelings, their hardships highlighted at such a high level,” said Fernández.

Using her role to bridge the gap, she created a board of trustees’ breakfast that allowed student leaders, who represented those communities, to meet the board members and give them an opportunity to have a candid conversation.

“She is definitely the hardest boss I’ve had to work for,” said Madison Dalton, a close friend who helped run Fernández’s student government campaign. “She pushes you to step up your game and work hard to achieve your goals.”

After working closely with the board, Fernández moved on to become the student government president after campaigning and winning by student votes continuing the work of diminishing the gap between diversity and access.

“It's been really, really challenging in a different way because student government has a history of just being super bureaucratic and is still super bureaucratic,” said Fernández.

In recent years, the American student government has been more diverse in presidential position, but, according to Fernández, “There still hasn't been a large change in like diversity in the supporting roles or different bodies.”

Fernández is expected to graduate in May 2019 and looks forward to spending time working first hand in the education system in communities similar to hers. She wants to use that knowledge to later create policies helping those communities have equal opportunities.