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Ten Minutes with Daniel Hernandez, Jr.

by Viktoria Valenzuela

I was privileged to be able to interview our Daniel Hernandez Jr., the man credited with saving Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ life. She’d been one of 19 people shot on January 9, 2011. This Mexican-American from Tucson is 20-years-old and has aspirations to serve in public life.

I asked him how his family is in the face of all this media attention. “I think they are all pretty overwhelmed. I’ve had experience and am a little bit more prepared. I’ve been trained to face the public. We’re relocated for a bit to be kept from the pressure. But also it’s really sad about the loss of the people, and Gabby because she was a family friend,” he told me.

I’d watched the televised memorial service for those lost, and let him know that his words had a healing message for the country, and wondered which was the most profound moment for him of the night. “The president made a simple but very very very profound moment when he said ‘300 plus million strong,’ and that is the statement that will stick most with me.”

“Out of many, one,” is the message Daniel reiterated throughout our chat. America does need to come together. He knows he is interested in running for office, but he has his whole life to see what direction it will happen in.

Currently he is working on finishing school and anxious to return to his internship at Giffords’ office. The staff has been amazing in that they have opened their office up to those who are grieving and maintained the office very well during Giffords’ recovery.

I asked him what his message to Latinos is, since he is seen as a role model. “Not just for Latinos, but for everyone, we need to come together. We need to make sure we are more productive instead of trying to destroy each other.  We work to work together. Make sure we keep in our thoughts and prayers those hurt and injured. They need our attention.”

I asked what he would like to see Americans do to help victims. He is sure that keeping them in our thoughts and prayers is key, and he’d like to see things like scholarships for college crop up in honor of Christina Green.

Hernandez is an advocate for higher education. In fact, Hernandez drafted and advocated a bill on behalf of the Arizona Student Association. The bill, known as HB2668, makes it easier for college students to vote in Arizona.

“I drafted and handed it to some legislators who proposed and passed it,” he said. “It had to do with increasing advocacy to get people engaged in voting. If we have more people involved and working together, then we have a better chance.”

I thanked Daniel Hernandez for speaking with me. He said it’d been a pleasure and we hung up the phone.

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To learn more about Viktoria,
visit her Facebook page.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.

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Posted on January 17, 2011 at 12:00 pm in Uncategorized   |  RSS feed

6 Responses to “Ten Minutes with Daniel Hernandez, Jr.”

    
  1. Adrian Carrasquillo
    January 17, 2011 at 12:25 pm

    Nice interview Viktoria. Glad it went well!

  2. Julio Ricardo Varela
    January 17, 2011 at 12:56 pm

    Very cool interview Viktoria. I didn’t know about the bill he introduced, very cool.

  3. Cindy Tovar
    January 18, 2011 at 7:13 pm

    Good interview! I liked that you asked what his message to Latinos was.

  4. Lourdes Aceves
    January 22, 2011 at 5:34 pm

    Not one question on SB1070? Given the way he looks (a very brown Mexican-American, like many in my family), he is very likely to have been targeted by this legislation. I am surprised you did not ask not even one question about his thoughts on the irony that a Hispanic kept Ms. Giffords alive in a state where that same Hispanic may have been targeted under their state senate bill. A missed opportunity, Ms. Valenzuela.

    Additionally, it is really odd to end an interview with: “I thanked Daniel Hernandez for speaking with me. He said it’d been a pleasure and we hung up the phone.” It sort of goes without saying that this is how the interview ended. You would have done better with an inspiring summary OR by inserting a concluding and poignant Q&A between you and him like for example his answer to your question about his message to Latinos.

    I was really looking forward to this interview and even scrolled through the BL site today to look for the blog so I could read it. I feel you could have asked better questions.

    • Viktoria Valenzuela
      January 23, 2011 at 1:38 am

      You may be right about the conclusion, but you are wrong about my line of questioning.

      I felt that asking the same tired old questions about Arizona and the trauma were not in the best interest of Being Latino fans and honestly, Mr. Hernandez was not interested in answering those kinds of questions. Instead when I asked about the political items of Arizona he gave me the scoop about his having drafted the bill that helps students vote from their colleges in Arizona. He could not express his interest enough in advocating for higher education and education rights when I asked how he felt about the controversial laws of the state. I strove to tell the story of this man not just regurgitate opinionated or leading questions.

      but, thank you for your comments.

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