Hispanic alumna selected for Richland Colleges Student Wall of Honor
Zabdi Hernandez, an assistant principal in the Garland ISD, among five students named to Richland College’s Student Wall of Honor on Nov. 8. Twice a year, current and former outstanding students are selected for their academic achievements, professional accomplishments and contributions to the community to be installed on the Student Wall of Honor.
The following biography is on Ms. Hernandez’s plaque on the Student Wall of Honor:
Zabdi Hernandez has come a long way from the little girl who silently hoped that everyday at school, the teacher wouldn*t ask her to read out loud.
Today, Zabdi is an Assistant Principal in the Garland Independent School District, and a role model for Spanish-speaking students and their parents.
When Zabdi was 10 years old, her family came to the United States with only a suitcase of clothes and hope of a better education for their children. At first elementary school she attended, Zabdi was one of five Hispanic children. She recalls crying every day and being very embarrassed when called on to read aloud because she only knew a few English words.
Zabdi vowed to become a good student in spite of the insults she endured from some classmates. She quickly learned English and regularly began making the Honor Roll.
She graduated from Garland High School in 1998, and followed in her older brother*s footsteps of working full time during the day and attending Richland College at night. Zabdi completed an Associate of Applied Arts and Sciences Degree with a 3.8 GPA from the Educational Personnel Program with the Bilingual Education specialization.
Zabdi then went to Texas Woman*s University on a full scholarship and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with a specialization in Bilingual Education in 2002. She began teaching and working on her Master*s Degree in Education Administration simultaneously. She completed the Master*s Degree with a Principal Certification at Texas A&M-Commerce, Magna Cum Laude, in 2005.
Ms. Hernandez has served as a mentor for Region X first-year teachers. She has also served as a mentor to students from the Richland College Teacher Preparation Program and served as a guest speaker for the future teachers student organization, Educators of America. Zabdi has also taught English as a Second Language to parents of Garland ISD students through the Parent Study Night Center. Zabdi was the Teacher of the Month in November 2002, the Teacher of the Year for Caldwell Elementary in 2004, a Disney Teacher of the Year Nominee for 2006 and won the Garland Association for Hispanic Affairs* GANAS Award in 2004.
Zabdi is the proud mother of a bilingual daughter.
For more than 30 years, Richland College of the Dallas County Community College District has focused on teaching, learning and community building.
In recognition of these efforts, the White House and the Dept. of Commerce named Richland a 2005 recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the only community college to have received this award. Richland helps students build their future through courses that can be applied to the first two years of a baccalaureate degree, one- or two-year certificates in a number of career fields, and training in the latest technology for students who want to advance in their current careers. The student body of more than 14,000 college credit students and about 5,000 continuing education students at Richland is internationally and ethnically diverse, speaking more than 79 first languages. Visit www.richlandcollege.edu for more information.
