KINGSVILLE (March 22, 2021) — Kevin Hernandez, a senior at George West High School, wants to be football coach. To that end, he applied for admission to Texas A&M University-Kingsville to major in kinesiology. Kevin has been accepted and Friday, March 19, members of the admissions crew from Javelina Nation visited Kevin at his school to present him with his admission letter.
However, Kevin got more than he expected. He was presented his acceptance letter by Dr. Darin Hoskisson, interim vice president for enrollment management, and then the fun started.
Master of Ceremonies Adrian Garcia, admissions counselor, got the ball rolling by announcing that Kevin would be receiving $15,000 in scholarship funds his first year and every year for the next four years.
A yard sign declaring his acceptance at Texas A&M-Kingsville was presented to his mother and step-father, Lesley Ticer and Joseph Guzman. It also said ‘Scholarship Recipient” in big red letters.
Because he also will be a part of the College of Arts and Sciences as a history major, the college dean, Dr. Dolores Guerrero, presented him with a backpack full of goodies. Dr. Steve Bain, dean of the College of Education and Human Performance, where Kevin will study to become a coach, also was present to welcome him to Javelina Nation.
Knowing his love of football, Garcia presented Kevin with a personalized Javelina blue game day jersey.
But the goodies didn’t stop there. On behalf of Athletic Director Steve Roach and Head Football Coach Mike Salinas, Kevin was presented a game helmet with “25” on the back indicating the year he will graduate, and a gold game day jersey.
Kevin has osteogenesis imperfecta or brittle bone disease and is confined to a wheelchair. He hasn’t let his disease define him, however. He plays in the George West High School marching band and hopes to be a part of the Pride of South Texas Javelina Marching Band at Texas A&M-Kingsville. He is a senior class officer and is a member of the Business Professionals of America, Spanish Club and Family and Career and Community Leaders of America.
Kevin admires Highland Park Football Coach Randy Allen and wants to be a coach like him. Despite his condition, Kevin hopes to be a regular student at Texas A&M-Kingsville and partake in as many activities as he can.
Part of Kevin’s scholarship came from the new Javelina Regents’ Scholarship, making him the first to receive this award from Texas A&M-Kingsville. The Javelina Regents’ Scholarship is part of Texas A&M University System Board of Regents’ and Texas A&M-Kingsville’s commitment to assisting first-generation, low-income students.
-TAMUK-
