On Monday, October 30, the Brown Ballroom at the Bone Student Center was a packed house as a sellout crowd of 430 came to hear the inspirational story of U.S. Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez, keynote speaker for Illinois State University’s annual Latino Cultural Dinner.
The meal was catered by Illinois State’s Event Management, Dining, and Hospitality (EMDH) and featured a variety of Puerto Rican fusion cuisines. University Housing Services hosted the event, which was sponsored by EMDH, the Association of Residence Halls, Latin America and Latino/a Studies, Hewett-Manchester Diversity Coalition, Watterson Diversity Coalition, and the Organization of Latino Employees.
Hernandez grew up in New Jersey. Her grandparents came to the United States from Puerto Rico. In 2016, she became the first U.S.-born Latina since 1984 to make the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team. As a member of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Team, she won a gold medal in the team competition and a silver medal in balance beam at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. It was her first major international meet.
Hernandez was a member of the legendary team known as the Final Five, which included: Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian, and Simone Biles. She told the audience she did not know at the time what she had accomplished by making the team.
“I didn’t realize how much the representation for Latina gymnasts was lacking until I got to the Olympic Trials in 2016,” she said. “I made the team, and then we had a press conference afterwards, and one of the reporters had come up: ‘Laurie, Laurie, you’re the first U.S-born Latina in over 30 years to make the Olympic Team. How does that make you feel?’”
The gravity of the moment made her cry.
“I look back on that, and I get why this is a big deal,” she said.
“No matter what race or color you are, you can aspire to do something great.”
Laurie Hernandez
Now 23, she remains in motion, much like a gymnast. She’s an activist, a dancer, an aspiring actress studying drama as a sophomore at New York University (NYU), a UNICEF USA ambassador, a learning ambassador for KPMG, and an author. In addition, Hernandez inspired the creation of a special Barbie by Mattel as part of its “Shero” doll collection, a line that honors inspirational women and girls.
It’s no wonder that Lourdes Concepción-Cabán, a graduate student in the School of Psychology, said in her introduction of Hernandez: “She uses her powers for good.”
As a writer, Hernandez had two books on the New York Times Best Seller List. Her book, I Got This: To Gold and Beyond made the list in 2017, followed in 2018 by her children’s picture book, She’s Got This. At 16, she was the youngest celebrity to win the Mirror Ball Trophy on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (DWTS).
Hernandez uses her platform as a dedicated supporter of children’s rights and mental health advocate. She regularly speaks at college campuses around the country and to corporate groups about the importance of following one’s passions with perseverance and gratitude.
The evening’s moderator was María-Ascunción Tudela, an assistant professor and a humanities and social sciences librarian at Milner Library. She and Hernandez sat together on stage as Tudela asked questions, including several from the audience.
When she won DWTS, she was a minor and limited to four hours practice and four hours of school work each day. So, what was her favorite dance on the show?
“Definitely the Argentine tango,” she said. “It was the polar opposite of my personality as a 16-year-old.”
As a kid growing up, gymnastics became her focus after seeing it on TV at the age of 5. In fact, she played no other sports. She told her mother she wanted to be like the gymnast she’d seen on television.
“I thought she looked so powerful and graceful,” Hernandez said. “I didn’t realize that gymnastics was something that human beings did. I trained and trained until Rio came along.”
What is her favorite gymnastics event?
“Theoretically, the floor,” she said. “However, beam was my favorite.”
She said she found the beam to be very meditative.
Hernandez was asked who her favorite leader is.
“My favorite leader is my mom; she’s an easy choice,” she said of her mother, Wanda, who is a social worker and therapist. “She’s always so kind. If you ever meet her, she’s literally a saint.
“She deeply cares about other human beings. She’s pretty lit.”
Hernandez said she sees Biles at competitions and championships and said she is very nice. She stays in close touch with Raisman whom she had dinner with recently. She looks for Biles to keep making history.
“Simone is the obvious pick for Paris, she is so powerful,” Hernandez said.
Her choosing to study drama at NYU may seem random to some but not to those close to her.
“My entire family was like: ‘Yeah, that tracks. That makes sense.’ I love performance,” she said.
Hernandez was also asked if she had advice for young people who find themselves dealing with abusive people in authority. She said that looks different for everyone.
“The biggest thing is knowing when to hold your ground and knowing when to walk away,” she said. “The most important thing is to find somebody you trust and tell them. I really urge you to do that. Talk to your teammates about it, talk to your friends about it, your parents, your family.”
She’s been a world-class athlete who’s struggled with depression, performance anxiety, and panic attacks. She’s a big proponent of therapy.
“We’ll go to the doctor for a sprained ankle, but it doesn’t mean when I can’t get up in the morning I’m holding shame for myself,” she said. “If your mind is not connected to the work that you’re doing, then it’s just not going to work.”
She called being able to vent through therapy “a fantastic place.” She encouraged putting into words what’s bothering you so you can “wash out the train of thought that’s happening.” She said to lean on friends and family even when you’re miles apart and to remember you’re not alone.
“There are people out there,” she said. “Sometimes you’ve got to squint a little. It doesn’t mean that they’ve gone anywhere.”
She praised the sense of community she felt Monday night inside Illinois State’s Brown Ballroom.
“Being the only person of color or the only Latina in a room, it can feel isolating, but it’s what I’m used to,” she said. “Spaces like this are so exciting because we get to come together and celebrate. This is the culture that I grew up with. This is what I’m used to. This is home to me.
“Reach out to those around you. Don’t be afraid to ask if people want to hang out and talk about their community because it’s important. Community is everything.”
