Hernández was born in 1962 near Stockton, California. His parents worked as migrant farmers. Each February, his family drove from Mexico to California and then traveled from farm to farm, following California’s harvest.
When Hernández wasn’t at school, he helped his parents in the fields. Every November, the family returned to Mexico. Moving around so much meant Hernández switched schools three times a year, which made learning English difficult. But numbers came easily to him. “1 + 3 = 4 is the same in Spanish and English,” he explains.
When Hernández was in second grade, his teacher visited his parents. She had taught most of their children and knew they were bright and well-loved, but she worried that moving around so often was affecting their learning.
Hernández’s parents, who hadn’t stayed in school beyond third grade, hoped their kids would someday go to college. To improve the kids’ chances for a good education, they decided to remain in Stockton year-round.
They knew it would be difficult to find work in the winter, but they dreamed of a better future for their children.