Two years ago, Luis Hernandez had little hope of attending college. Now, thanks to lessons in paying it forward from a dedicated teacher and the late philanthropist Lewis Katz, the Susquehanna Twp. High School graduating senior is heading to the nation's most prestigious fashion-industry school.
Hernandez, the son of Jose and Olivia Hernandez, was born in Mexico and has attended Susquehanna Twp. School District for most of his school career. He studied fashion design under designer Richard Andries in Susquehanna Twp. High School's School of the Arts.
His sophisticated creations wowed officials at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and won his acceptance there. Through a connection made by Andries, Katz offered to pay his tuition.
Hernandez – voted best-dressed by his STHS classmates – said he always got good grades and had an interest in fashion, but by 10th grade, he "had no idea how to go to college" or become a designer.
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"In 10th grade, students start talking about college, but I felt really out of it," he said. "I had no direction. I wasn't motivated."
A friend who shared his interest in fashion convinced him to enroll in Susquehanna Twp. High School's new School of the Arts. By his senior year, Hernandez's portfolio of fashions – from a showstopping women's gown to a men's suit in black-and-white tiger stripes -- won a Gold Key in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
As part of a Gold Key exhibit, Hernandez exhibited his favorite design, a kimono-cape hybrid in black and gold, at the State Museum of Pennsylvania.
Andries, known for such designs as Pennsylvania First Lady Susan Corbett's inauguration ball gown, said he recognized a bit of himself in Hernandez, trying to overcome stigmas about men working as fashion designers.
Katz entered the picture, offering to pay Hernandez's tuition, when an Andries acquaintance forwarded a note about Hernandez to the businessman and philanthropist.
Katz grew up in modest circumstances, raised by his widowed mother in Camden, N.J. Four days before his May 31 death in a plane crash, he and a partner won a bidding war to buy the Philadelphia Inquirer.
After his death, Katz was remembered for his generosity to causes big and small, from a $25 million donation to Temple University to a Super Bowl trip for a coffee shop worker. At his memorial service, Gov. Tom Corbett cited Katz's support for Hernandez as an example of his generosity.
After Katz offered to pay Hernandez's tuition, the pair met during a trip the philanthropist made to Harrisburg. Entering the room where the meeting was held, Katz immediately asked, "Where's Luis?" Andries said that Katz told them he was paying forward a favor done for him, paying his tuition to Dickinson School of Law when he had no money.
"And that is the one thing he asked of Luis, that when you're there, you pay it forward," Andries said. "That's what we do. You pay it forward with whatever little that you have."
When Hernandez learned of Katz's death, "this young man never once was concerned about what was going to happen to him," Andries said.
"Not even a mention," he said. "He was heartbroken, because here was this man who hugged him. Loved him almost immediately."
Hernandez inspires his fashion school classmates by his focus and his quiet way of handling things, said Andries. Friend Nick Brown, a junior, said Hernandez told him to be the class leader next year.
"He told me I need to step up," said Brown, who also hopes to study at FIT or Parsons The New School for Design. "All around, he's a really good person to be with. He's very positive."
Andries is "convinced wholeheartedly" that Hernandez will succeed, especially because of a work ethic that has kept him at school many days until 6 p.m. to finish his creations.
In a group that includes four other seniors heading to college to study fashion, Hernandez won't admit to being an inspiration for his classmates, but he hopes he has set an example for "just working hard, and everything you hope for will come true."
One of his "biggest personal goals" is someday paying forward the generosity of Lewis Katz and the support he has received from Andries, his family, and others.
"I'm not really motivated by the money," he said. "If I keep working hard, I know it's going to take me to big places. Hopefully one day, I can say I'm in a good situation financially, and I can give back to those who helped me and those who need it, because years from now there might be another student who can't afford college or can't afford fabric, or can't afford class, and I can be there for them, because they're going to be the future."
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