Judson High School has a culture that is rooted in tradition. It is important that that culture continues with a leader who also values the idea of tradition, the importance of culture, and is rooted in the community.

Principal Jesus Hernandez III has been with the campus for over a decade, keeping his faith with the community, coping with the challenges of being a principal during a pandemic, and pushing forward through some big changes in education.

Hernandez is fulfilled that he has stayed such a long time as principal and feels that these past 10 years have been special.

“I feel that God put me here for a reason and has kept me here for a reason. I am just following the path that he wants me to follow,” Hernandez said.

The community has had a big impact on Judson High School and Principal Hernandez himself over the years. 

“The community in itself, which is neighbors, businesses, churches, and other schools, kind of fits together like a machine and we adjust to what the community needs and the community adjusts to what we need,” Hernandez said.

COVID has had a big impact and tough challenges, from attendance issues to technology errors, even not being able to be on campus. There were a lot of changes that had to be made super quick which is probably the biggest challenge. 

“The challenges were unique, but not impossible. So knowing that I have a great team of teachers that support our kids made it very easy for us to make the changes and decisions that we needed to make in order to serve our kids during the pandemic,” Hernandez said. 

The past ten years have been an amazing ride and Principal Hernandez has so many memories from the years that he keeps close to his heart, from students and people of the Judson community. 

“I hear a lot from the community and our students, and they’ll see me at the mall, see me at H-E-B and they’ll just talk to me and let me know what’s going on in their life or let me know what’s going on in the community, and that has been one of the biggest parts of these past years,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez knows that, especially after a rough year in the virtual world, the future is bright for the campus.

“ We can never go back to the way we were before because of the pandemic but we’ve learned so much in terms of what we’ve done, meaning that we know how to integrate technology better, we know how to diversify what we do in the classroom better, and we know that kids need more. With all of this, we’ve learned I know we can be a better high school,” Hernandez said.

As he heads into his post-decade principalship as leader of one of the area’s biggest high schools, the sky is the limit for the fearless leader.

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