Caring. Passionate. Energetic. These are a few words students use to describe self-proclaimed “bubbly” Duquesne University Spanish language professor Vanessa Fernandez, Ph. D.

Growing up in Puerto Rico with a Puerto Rican father and mother from Louisiana, Fernandez spoke Spanish at school and English at home. “It wasn’t difficult, but I definitely felt different. It wasn’t a difference that I was aware of at the time, more than to say that my friends whose parents who were both Puerto Rican celebrated different traditions,” Fernandez said. As a child, Fernandez took many trips to what she then called, “the States” to visit family in Louisiana and had a connection with both her American roots as well as her Puerto Rican roots.

After graduating from Princeton University in 1999, Fernandez received her master’s degree in teaching Spanish from Columbia University. She taught at a middle school in New York City from 2000 to 2003 before moving to Los Angeles to teach at Beverly Hills High School. Fernandez decided to get her Ph. D. from University of California Los Angeles and later taught at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

From living in Puerto Rico to New York City, Los Angeles, Houston, and Pittsburgh, Fernandez has experienced a variety of cultures. “Pennsylvania is very different, but there was just something about the city. There was a lot to adapt to, but I’m all for new experiences and I get really excited,” Fernandez said. While she didn’t expect to end up in Pittsburgh, Fernandez is embracing the opportunity to experience new people in a new city and is excited to see what Pittsburgh has to offer.

Fernandez is dedicated to her students and believes that her students are what make teaching worth all the hard work. “My students are honestly what make it worth it,” Fernandez said. “When they get it or find something exciting and I’ve been able to help them get there. That, for me, is very meaningful.” She sees herself as more of a “guide” for her students and gives them the tools to find their own way.

She sees teaching as a way to not only better the lives of her students, but to better her own life as well as the community around her. “Different perspectives and meeting students from so many different backgrounds and cultures, really helps me have a much broader perspective on the world,” Fernandez said. “Seeing how students think about things really opened my mind to looking at things in ways I may never have thought of in my mind.” Fernandez aims to make a difference in the world as well as to become a “hot shot” professor and respectable scholar.

Kierstin Hauser, 20, a junior at Duquesne University, speaks highly of the Spanish language education Fernandez has given her. “She was one of my favorite professors at Duquesne. I really disliked Spanish before I took her class,” Hauser said. “But she made me want to take more classes in Spanish.” Hauser not only appreciates the effort Fernandez makes to give her students out of class experiences, like salsa dancing lessons, but likes the close bond that the class shares thanks to Fernandez.

Fernandez works every day to improve her teaching skills and thinks there’s always room for improvement. She tries different techniques of teaching and does her best to give her students the best learning experience possible. “I don’t consider myself a rock star teacher or anything,” Fernandez said. “I feel like I’m always trying to improve. A good teacher is someone who knows how to learn.” Becoming a teacher is the closest Fernandez could get to fulfill her dream to become a “professional student,” but her students have in turn become her teacher.

Sarah Funyak, 19, a sophomore at Duquesne University, thinks that while Fernandez challenges her students academically, she truly cares about her students. “Doctor Fernandez was a professor who really took the time to make sure that students were recovering a quality education while challenging them to push themselves on difficult tasks,” Funyak said. Funyak finds Fernandez to be a professor that she can easily relate to as well. While she enjoys having Fernandez as a teacher, Funyak thinks that sometimes the workload can be overwhelming because Fernandez strongly believes in her students’ abilities to complete the tasks.

Fernandez expects excellence from her students but does so because she hopes to make a difference. Fernandez wants to use her position as a university professor to make positive contributions to society and is devoted to connecting the classroom with the community. “As a college professor, I’m in a different position because the students are in a different position,” Fernandez said. “I can help students grow and bring something positive to the world. As a college professor, I have more of an ability to affect change in the world. One paper at a time. One student at a time.” Not only does Fernandez expect excellence from her students, but she expects excellence from herself to give her students the best experience possible. She wants her students to get the most out of their education and to expose them to new opportunities in their surroundings.

Reflecting on her first semester teaching at Duquesne, Fernandez thinks highly of her students and appreciates all they have done. She says her students are some of the most polite students she has ever taught and loves their hard work and dedication to learning. “These students are the most different group of students I’ve ever taught in my life,” Fernandez said. “They are the ones that drive me.” Fernandez looks forward to seeing what else her experience in Pittsburgh and with her Duquesne students will bring to her.

In the next five years, Fernandez hopes to be well on her way to becoming a “hot shot” professor. “I want people to say, ‘Oh, that’s Vanessa. Her book is solid.’ I want to become a respectable scholar,” Fernandez said. “I want to publish well-written material that contributes to my field.” She is very aware that everyone has the opportunity to make a difference in the world and wants to try to improve her community as much as possible.