Meet DCI’s Maria Hernandez-Chaire

Maria Hernandez-Chaire grew up with an older sister and lived in Kasson during her school years and she is a Kasson-Mantorville graduate. She played some volleyball, was in the choir, and enjoyed watching school sports events with her friends.
Maria intended to pursue nursing, but she really loved art classes, and was inspired by her K-M art instructors Marilyn Fredrickson, and Marie Torkelson to pursue art while applying for college. She worked at Daniels Cafe during the school year and summer months while in high school.
She attended St. Mary’s University in Winona for two years to pursue Art and Graphic design. She then transferred to The College of Saint Benedict and St. John’s University since they had a stronger art and graphic design program that fit her interests better..
She got involved with the art and T-Spot club that would design apparel for the college sports events especially for the annual football rivalry game between St. Johns and the University of St. Thomas.
She was a nanny for two summers for a young boy of a local couple which she really enjoyed. She started watching hockey while at college and really enjoys watching the Wild games. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Art/Graphic Design.
She applied for an internship with the Urban Scholars program, and worked with Children’s Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis in public relations, communications and marketing. She got accepted for another year in the Urban Scholars program to work for the City of Minneapolis, for the Community Planning Economic Development program which partners with communities and offers direct support to remove barriers for people and businesses, focusing on empowering BIPOC communities to thrive in a diverse, equitable, and sustainable Minneapolis economy. She later did a remote project with a company in Detroit, Michigan.
Maria enjoys reading especially dystopian type books relating to an imagined state or society such as the Legend series by Marie Lu or the Hunger Games. She also enjoys watching Netflix series movies. She has gotten into running as it helps to relax her mind, but she didn’t participate in track or cross country in high school but wishes now that she had done so. When the weather doesn’t cooperate she will run on the treadmill instead. Maria attends church services at St. John’s Evangelist in Rochester as their later worship times are more to her liking.
She is a second generation Aermicancitizen and speaks fluent Spanish and she can switch easily between English and Spanish during conversations. She loves her mother’s cooking especially when she makes Cheesy Enchiladas or Torta Sandwiches for the family.