Mrs. Mildred Hernandez is the Spanish III and IB Spanish teacher, as well as the co-adviser of the Spanish Honors Society. She has been teaching for fourteen years, and even coached cheerleading for twenty-five years. She is a mentor for novice teachers at Millbrook, a Professional Learning Team lead for her content level, and was just named department chair for World Language! While she was born and raised in New Jersey, Mrs. Hernandez moved to North Carolina for her husband’s job. Before that, she had lived in Puerto Rico for six years while she was in college. After getting married and having children, she decided to go back to college for her teaching degree, where her passion for the Spanish language led her to teach Spanish to children. In her free time, she loves to watch TV in order to keep up with the world, and she enjoys travelling. She hopes to be able to travel to every continent when she and her husband retire.

 In the classroom, Mrs. Hernandez works to create a cultural environment so her students can learn the Spanish language in depth. She said, “I like my students to understand that learning another language is such a privilege to have because you will have such a great opportunity. I believe that in the year 2025 or so, the Spanish language is going to dominate the world.” Many of Mrs. Hernandez’s students think that she is exceptional in surrounding them with the language. Senior Tori Hunt said, “She is different from other Spanish teachers I’ve had because she doesn’t only teach the language, but also puts an emphasis on learning elements of Spanish culture. She also teaches us different sayings so that our understanding of the language is better.” Mrs. Hernandez wants to share her experiences with her students so that they have some thought of what it was like when she was growing up so that they are able to fully understand the language and culture.

 Mrs. Hernandez has been the adviser for Spanish Honors Society for three years now. Students are able to participate in activities such as going to retirement homes and singing Christmas carols to the elderly in different languages, as well as going to eat at Hispanic restaurants month. Mrs. Hernandez likes for her students to be highly involved in the culture in order to learn the language. Spanish Honors Society member Alexandra Butler said, “I like that we dine at a Hispanic restaurants about once a month. We get to practice real world skills of ordering your meal, enjoying the unique culture/ atmosphere, and having a great time chatting in Spanish to the other members.” The goal of this organization is to introduce the culture that they have learned in class and outside of class and also to build community service time. Mrs. Hernandez said, “When I see non-native speakers speak as well as they do, and they enjoy the culture and language, that gives me a lot of joy.”