Eric Hernandez is not a new professor, but he is, as he likes to say, “a gently used faculty member”.
He first taught some accounting classes at Taylor University a few years ago and came back this spring as an assistant professor of accounting.
Hernandez is originally from Mexico City, Mexico. When he was 15 years old, his father wanted him to get a job and contacted a friend who owned a factory.
“He asked him if there is anything that a puberto inberebe (beard-less boy) could help him with,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez was then given the job of an accounting assistant. He recalls dressing up, putting on a flowery tie, grabbing a briefcase and putting comics and snacks in it on his first day.
Hernandez was impressed by the owner’s knowledge of business. He eventually decided to study accounting in college, enjoying how rigorous and quantitative it was. He also liked how there was a systematic progression to getting into the profession.
Hernandez graduated from Bethel University. Most of his experience was in oil and gas companies. After teaching at Taylor briefly, he went back to the industry. He had no plans on going back into teaching.
On a visit to Taylor, he met with Jody Hirschy, hodson dean of the cornwall school of business & leadership. While having lunch together, she encouraged him to come back to Taylor. He asked God for guidance on the decision and applied for the position after feeling led by the Holy Spirit.
“Taylor is a great place that does a wonderful job in developing individuals professionally and spiritually,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez integrates faith into his classroom by keeping God central to everything they learn. He starts each class with scripture, and he emphasizes Christian ethics in his curriculum. Hernandez said that from trading to budgeting, it is all there in the Word of God when you look for it.
Hernandez grew up in an Evangelical Christian family. Five generations before him, his great-grandfather came to Christ as soon as it became legal to be anything other than Catholic in Mexico. One moment that Hernandez recollects where his faith became his own was when he was 17 years old on a Sunday, right before coming to the U.S. for college.
He remembers it was communion that day. As the congregation was worshipping, Hernandez just started crying. He could not hear a voice, but he got the impression that God was telling him that while he had been striving to give things to God, God just wanted him.
“I don’t want anything from you. What I want is you.” Hernandez said as he teared up, recollecting the moment God spoke to him.
In his current season, Hernandez has been mulling over Genesis 22. The key word for him has been “provision.” He drew a parallel between God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac and God sacrificing his own son Jesus. When Isaac asked Abraham where the ram was, Abraham said, “God will provide”.
As Hernandez thought about the word “provide,” he realized that provision is so much more than a fulfillment of physical needs. God provided a ram for the sacrifice, and he provided his son for our salvation.
“I have come to see that God doesn’t limit himself with providing for our physical needs, but the best most wonderful provision he has for us is that of Himself. … What better provision is there than his Holy Spirit to walk everyday with us.” Hernandez said.
