Get to know Andres!

Andrés H.

Corps member serving on Heroes

Hometown: Miami, FL

Education: B.S. in Psychology from the University of Florida

What team are you on and what do you do? I work on the Heroes team, as the Civic Engagement Coordinator for Young Heroes. Right now I am securing donations and community support as well as recruiting a diverse team of middle-school students for our Saturday service-learning program which begins in December. Our Heroes meet sixteen times to learn about social justice topics through engaging activities and then performing transformative service related to our curriculum.

Why did you join City Year and why do you serve? I’ve always been passionate about social justice and helping others. The presidential campaign last year got me fired up about national service as a movement and about the change that could be created right here in the nation’s capital. I think a society full of critical thinkers is a healthy one and I believe that City Year, and particularly Heroes, is a great avenue to be able to inspire creative and critical thought in young people.

What are you most excited about this year? The flexibility of the kind of curriculum and service we can plan is exciting and my team is ready to engage these kids and change the way they see their community and world. Being able to share my knowledge and experience (as well as my teammates’) with our Heroes is a fantastic opportunity. Learning from them and how they see the world has already been eye-opening and inspiring.

What are you most nervous about this year? I am nervous about coordinating 100 middle schoolers through public transportation, but hopefully we will have enough Team Leaders to keep the chaos to a minimum.

What is something most people don’t know about you and wouldn’t guess? I’ve been trained by the State of Florida in how to take down and restrain violent psychotic individuals and I have been known to build and paint scale models of imaginary Japanese robots.