Photos by Marty James

By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com

Alfredo Hernandez and Napa Valley College have a connection that spans years and years.

Hernandez was in elementary school when his older sister, Dalila Hernandez, would drop him off, either at the Math Department or the McCarthy Library, while she was taking a class at NVC.

It's where Alfredo spent part of day after school – getting his homework done, reading, and staying on top of his studies as a student at Vichy Elementary School.

It's where he got his AA degree in Natural Science in 2012.

It's where he worked for five years as an outreach specialist, from 2015 to 2020, helping high school students in the area meet with NVC counselors and then also assisting them with enrolling and registration at the college.

"That kind of motivated me. I always knew that I wanted to become something more. I'm like, I'm doing a lot of the work. I just need to be able to do ed plans. So, I'm like, let me go back and get my master's degree and be able to do that," Hernandez said.

That's exactly what Hernandez did, as he went to Saint Mary's College in Moraga and got his master's in counseling, with an emphasis in higher education, in 2020.

Today, he is Napa Valley College's Athletic Academic Counselor, a position he has been in since April, during the spring semester.

"Napa College has literally been a part of my whole life, giving me my first professional job, giving me a chance to go and get a master's degree," he said last week from his office, located in the NVC Athletic Department.

"Napa College has given me a lot."

August will be a busy time at NVC, with the start of the fall semester, with student-athletes returning to campus, with four teams (women's golf, women's volleyball, men's and women's soccer) all playing in-season. It will also be a very important time for Hernandez, as he goes about meeting the respective teams and the student athletes on those teams.

There are also fall programs at NVC for men's golf, baseball, and men's and women's basketball.

"I always kind of strive to do something different," said Hernandez. "This is an opportunity for me to collaborate with a different department, what I could do for it, how I could maybe assist. It's giving back to Napa College," he said.

In his job, Hernandez, 32, is there to help student athletes with their educational plans, with showing them around campus and introducing them to the different departments, assisting them with registration and helping them find classes that will work with their practice schedules.

"What really excites me is being a mentor, letting them know I'm somebody that can guide them," he said. "I help them do ed plans. I also help them look for classes. I go with them and look for a class that fits their schedule. As a counselor, it's that extra step, letting them or their coach know, this class is going to overlap your practice.

"I like to show them, this is what you need, and it's on you. I really try to take that extra step. They're athletes. They've got to stay healthy. They've got to come to practice. They also have to study. Some of them have to commute. So, if I could add that extra help and get 1 percent of stress out of their mind, their body, I think it's a win-win."

Hernandez will be looking to try and meet with each student-athlete, 1-on-1, as a way of introducing himself, letting them know about his position, and that he is here to provide help and assistance.

"As soon as I got assigned to this position, I really made it an intention to go out and say hi to the coaches, introduce myself to the students, letting them know I'm here. That is my goal," he said. "With this department, I want to work to create a campaign that helps students meet with me."

He is meeting with a lot of the freshman student athletes, those who recently graduated from high school, and are starting out at NVC.

"Big or small questions, I'm here for them," said Hernandez. "I tell them, if I don't know the answer, I'll try to get you the answer."

He will also take students and show them around campus.

"It's a new kind of journey for me. So, I want to make sure that, just as they're doing the work, I also have to make sure I'm doing the work as well," said Hernandez, who is a Napa resident. "It's a commitment I have to the department, to the student athletes, to Napa College.

"The athletes are doing their best. They're competing out there. I need to compete with myself and do the best job I can. I need to make sure that I'm prepared, that I'm doing the best I can."

Hernandez is originally from Tonala, Oaxaca, Mexico. He and his family moved from Mexico to the U.S. He is the youngest in a family of five boys and two girls.

Hernandez was 5 years old when he moved to Napa, in 1997, and started out at Vichy Elementary.

There was so much that he learned – the English language, a new country.

"Sometimes it was hard doing homework, because I was learning the language. I had to go through some struggles academically," he said.

He also went to Silverado Middle School and graduated from Vintage High School in 2009.

He transferred from Napa Valley College to UC Berkeley and graduated in 2014 from Cal with a degree in American Studies.

His parents are Catalina Ramirez and Bulfrano Hernandez.

* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.