February 7, 2018 | UHCL Staff
It took Missouri City resident Patricia Landa-Hernandez a long time to walk across
the stage to collect her Master of Arts in Humanities from University of Houston-Clear
Lake. For students juggling work and family responsibilities, staying focused on an
academic goal can be almost impossibly difficult. With the help of her family and
some key professors in UH-Clear Lake’s Department of Humanities, she achieved her
goal in December 2017.
“I’m the first person in my family to graduate from college and I wanted to go even further by being the first person to get a graduate degree,” said Landa-Hernandez, a manager in radiology and oncology business services at MD Anderson Cancer Center. “It took me 13 years to get my master’s degree, but I kept going. I took one course at a time and I never stopped trying to get to my goal.”
Taking graduate courses while working full time, caring for her mother, and raising a son was not easy. “I wanted my son to have a better life,” she said. “It was stop and go. Sometimes I was only able to take one or two classes in a year. My mother had surgery and there were other setbacks along the way. Financially, it’s difficult.”
The key, said Landa-Hernandez, was never to lose sight of what she wanted to accomplish. “The professors at UHCL are extraordinary,” she said. “Life will happen no matter what. I know that without my professor, (Department Chair of Liberal Arts and Associate Professor of Humanities) Shreerekha Subramanian, I would not have made it. She took the time to help me and gave me hope to not give up.”
Subramanian said that Landa-Hernandez was emblematic of UH-Clear Lake’s Humanities students. “Pat is exactly the student that gives us our identity as a designated Hispanic Serving Institution. She is a working mom who came to the degree later and took a bit longer, but stayed the course and reached the finish line. Patricia’s dedication and focus gives us the evidence that we need to stay the course and keep doing what we do for our students.”
Landa-Hernandez came to Subramanian for extra help to prepare for her Capstone examination. “I was her Capstone committee chair and along with (Assistant Professor of Art History) Sarah Costello, we helped her get ready for her exam.”
As much as the academic support, Landa-Hernandez said that she received plenty of emotional reinforcement from Subramanian and Costello as well. “Dr. Subramanian was my adviser and she took the time to spend one-on-one with me last summer,” she said. “During this summer class session, she provided various daily assignments. It was just the two of us, studying together every day for the exam, but it was more than that. She helped me have the discipline to keep studying the given assignments and it was intense. I had a lot of reading to do – I mean, a lot! Through this hard work and preparation, she helped me bring out the best in myself.”
Despite Subramanian’s trip to India last summer, she and Landa-Hernandez kept their regular appointments via video chats. During their sessions, they went over questions, clarified complicated theoretical ideas, and Subramanian ensured her student was showing the appropriate level of mastery of the texts.
“I told her, distance will not be a problem. She sent me her reading assignments and she did more extra work than any average graduate student I ever had,” she said.
Subramanian added that she felt her connection to Landa-Hernandez reminded her of the reason she has chosen teaching as her profession. “Her success brings home why we teach, and it shows what kind of university we are,” she said. “These are our hardworking, shining stars who are managing work and home life. They’re in school and it might take them a little longer, but they get there.”
That support, said Landa-Hernandez, made her feel doubly determined to do well on her capstone exam. “Dr. Subramanian got behind me, and I didn’t want to let her down,” she said. “It’s not often you find someone who will help you out this way; someone who believes in you. She gave me the daily work and I took it very seriously.”
In addition, Landa-Hernandez said that (Associate Professor of Humanities) Daniel Silvermintz, (Professor of Philosophy) Keith Parsons, and (Assistant Professor of Art History) Beth Merfish were instrumental in her success. “They were all awesome,” she said. “They helped me lay the foundation for the work so I could answer the exam questions. I also apply what I learned in my professional career. I use the critical thinking skills and attention to detail in my daily work as a manager at MD Anderson. With my graduate degree in hand, I know I will go farther in the future.”
Subramanian said that she felt that Landa-Hernandez had taken every possible opportunity offered to her by her professors. “She showed such perseverance,” she said. “It was a long time for her, but we threw her a lifeline and she grabbed it and swam ashore on her own merits. She made me so proud.”
For more information about UHCL’s Humanities program, visit www.uhcl.edu/human-sciences-humanities/departments/liberal-arts/humanities.
