After Milton District, I went on to the University of Guelph studying criminal justice and public policy. I’m now in my third year of post-secondary education studying in England, on a study abroad program. This program has given me the opportunity to travel all over Europe seeing places like Rome, Milan, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin and more. I’ve also taken this opportunity to pursue some personal goals while studying internationally.

I’ve always been interested in dance, but never had an opportunity to take classes when I was in high school. Since graduation, I took a pole dancing class and am now the 2014 Canadian Pole Fitness Championships Third Place Amateur. After winning the provincial title in Ontario, I moved onto place third at nationals and have now taken my dancing across seas and earned my most recent title of UK’s Pole2Pole Essex Heat Amateur Champion. I’m happy to say that I am an award-winning pole dancer both nationally and internationally, and even more excited to say that I am a darn-good hula hoop instructor!

In addition to being a pole dancing and hula hoop instructor, I am incredibly proud to say that I work for the Ontario Government on a student position with the Ministry of Attorney General: Environment & Land Tribunal. Over 5000 students applied to this position and I was lucky enough to be selected. Trust me when I say that even if you think you aren’t worthy of being qualified- just apply, you may never know what can happen.

I was never confident in high school and to be honest, no one was. The greatest piece of advice I got in university was from my 70-year old professor who said, ‘If there’s anything Philosophy has taught me about self-esteem, it’s ‘fake it till you make it.’ I never thought I was good enough to compete as a dancer. I never thought I’d have what it takes to move to another country on my own. I never thought I’d be qualified to work for the government at only 19, but if I at least “pretended” to be the person I wanted to be, then eventually I’d be in a position where I couldn’t pretend anymore, and I’d just have to be the awesome person I am. Take risks. You would be amazed at what you can accomplish if you put yourself in a position where you have to.

If you have any comments or questions for Ally Hernandez, you can message her at corinaalejandra@gmail.com or follow her on instagram: allyhooperxo

From Mark Saunders to Chris Hadfield, you might be surprised to learn who has come through MD, and where they are now!

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