Jonathan Hernandez is an Assistant Director for Campus Recreation and the 2022 Texas State Employee of the Year. As a double alum of Texas State, he takes pride in helping to maintain a robust and engaging litany of programs through Campus Rec and the Student Recreation Center.
Jon also happens to be one of the more personable individuals you might run into on campus. A veritable hurricane of charisma and good vibes, you can find Jon at the Student Rec Center striving to make the best of his day with a mega-watt smile on his face.
Q: You get up in the morning and it just feels like it’s going to be one of those days where the hits just keep coming. How do you psych yourself up to start your day?
Honestly a lot of it is personal. At this point, you have to be very smart with your work life balance. For me, it’s a mental thing. I have to be mentally sound before I get the day started. A quick meditation. I’m an early riser. I like to get moving with my dog or go out for a run. The potential of the day gets me going.
I graduated from Texas State as a double alum, so I bleed maroon and gold. I think we’re just scratching the surface here at Texas State – we’re a gold mine and still trying to figure out how to mine it. I want everyone to experience the best of what Texas State has to offer. Why would I work at a place if I don’t want to be there? We can make these days good or bad. I’ll be honest, I don’t really have bad days. I’m an optimistic realist – what can we accomplish? A lot of it is ‘what can I do’ to help the students get to the next step. I remember being that junior struggling to get through my classes, so I want to help.
They say attitude is 90 percent of everything. You have to have fun with it.
Q: The Rec is a very popular place on campus and offers a bunch of different services. How do you deal with so many things – and people?
Knowing deep down you’re not going to please everyone – maybe 9/10. You’ll hear the most from that one person. Take it in stride. Most complaints are personal – they’re not upset at the staff member, just the situation in customer service. You’ve got to treat customers like they are always right, and we try and teach the students that. To teach a sense of awareness and learning. People don’t automatically know everything – from how to use a turnstile to different equipment on the floor – so we try to help them preemptively.
We talk to our students – we want them to share what’s wrong with the Rec. We deal with it by making connections and listening to the student body. By interacting with them and building relationships and finding the time to interact with different groups. I’ve got a great team and we work together to deal with the totality of all the goings on at the Rec.
Q: You were recently awarded the 2022 Texas State University Employee of the Year award. I’m curious – was there anything that you changed this last year in terms of how you approached your work or customer service?
Coming off a Covid year, it felt like things were ‘Go, Go, Go!’ The Rec center is a place of materialistic things. We had less staff and more activity. Things turned to protecting the staff rather than the task that needed to be done. During the past two years, a lot of people went through a rollercoaster.
For me, it was about where I could meet them as people. There wasn’t anything specific that I did more of, aside from changing my focus to the people. To help them. We changed the way we communicated as a group. Mental mindset was our biggest thing and recognizing that work is always going to be there.
Q: You’re an Assistant Director for Campus Recreation and it’s obvious that you love your job. Was there another job that you were certain you were going to be doing when you were younger? Or was this always the dream?
This was not the job I thought I would be doing up until college. I had a lot of different ambitions growing up, and a lot revolved around sports and movement. I’m pretty sure at one time I wanted to be a professional athlete in something. I was a recruited student athlete – I came to college as a 17-year who went to school to run, not for college. Sports medicine was my first true ‘want’ and then it shifted to recreation in grad school. I’m working with the target population – I feel like we’re doing a good job with our students. But I did not anticipate doing this the first time I walked into the Rec Center. How times have changed.
Q: If you could, and you’re not completely enamored with your current job, what other job would you love to do?
Because of the nature of my job with Campus Rec, I would like to do something more routine, less administrative. For lack of better words, non-administrative work. One thing I always say is if you don’t like your job, you’re not going to like it forever. Find a job that you enjoy and go do it. I think, though, I would want to own a running store.
Q: Favorite post-workout snack?
Chocolate milk. Hands down. It’s my go-to after a long hard work out. And breakfast tacos.
Q: Do you take advantage of your proximity to ShakeSmart?
Yes. They know me, they have my credit card on file and my app is loaded with ShakeSmart dollars. I get a cold-brew coffee almost every other morning. Their shakes are top-notch as well. They’re a very good option for alternative eating on campus.
I love this! Getting to know the Employee of the Year!! NICE job.