Each week, the Record (using a script in R) randomly selects a student at the College for our One in Two Thousand feature, excluding current Record board members. This week, Uriah M. Hernandez ’27 discussed his favorite running trails, spring break plans, and memories from living in Costa Rica. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Akkshansh Bagga (AB): You grew up in Pittsfield. What is it like going to school kind of locally?
Uriah M. Hernandez (UH): Growing up in Pittsfield, I honestly didn’t think much about Williams until high school, when we had track meets and soccer games here. I didn’t consider coming here until my senior year, when one of my teachers, whose daughter went here, suggested it. I was close with him, so I thought about it, and I ended up really liking the idea. Being a student here is very different from living in Pittsfield. At home, life was more independent — school, sports, a summer job — it felt like small-town life. Here, you’re surrounded by incredibly talented, ambitious people with a ton of work and a lot of resources — it’s like a bubble.
AB: A lot of people here only know Pittsfield as an Amtrak station. What would you want them to know?
UH: Just like anywhere, you find your own small things. For me, it was this beautiful running route. I’d pass by my friend’s house and stop to say “Hi.” It was really scenic, with mountain views. Also, Berkshire Mountain Bakery has incredible pizza and sandwiches. When I was younger, my siblings and I would go for long walks, because that’s what my mother had us do to exercise. We’d walk to Starbucks, and then get a Frappuccino as a reward. I also played golf at Berkshire Hills Country Club. It was a great spot for a high schooler in the summers.
AB: Speaking of running, you’re the only person I follow on Strava. What’s your favorite running trail around here?
UH: There’s a great loop from Water Street up Stone Hill — very pretty. Also, the top of the RRR Brooks trail has one of the most breathtaking views I’ve seen.
AB: I know you’re a tea person. What’s your go-to tea?
UH: My go-to is Harney & Sons green citrus tea. But my absolute favorite is a rose tea from England. I don’t get it often because of shipping costs, so it’s like a birthday or New Year’s celebratory tea. Recently, my friend got me some really good green tea from China. And that was probably the best green tea I’ve had.
AB: You’re famously not on social media. How does that affect your college experience?
UH: It’s kind of paradoxical to be “famously” off social media. I had it for a bit in middle and high school and it just wasn’t it. It was pretty distracting: It felt like I was doing something that I knew wasn’t really useful, and I didn’t really like it, so I was like, “I can do without it.” That means if I know someone, then I can get their number. Honestly, I feel it helps more than it holds back — just makes interactions more personal.
AB: I heard you had to make a social media account for a Tolstoy class. What happened?
UH: For “Tolstoy and the Meaning of Life,” we had an assignment to showcase Tolstoy to the public. I made an Instagram called something like “Tolstoy Project” and got banned immediately. Tried again as “Project Tolstoy” — banned again. For my third attempt, I used a different email, and it finally worked. I posted a poem about Tolstoy.
AB: You’re more of a physics person, so what made you take a Tolstoy class?
UH: I always think about classes as something like, “Okay, you’re only here for so long: What do you want to take away from your time here?” I wanted to take physics, but when I saw the Tolstoy class, I felt the best way to read his work would be in a class. And I’d probably take that experience with me after Williams.
AB: Have you taken any other impactful classes?
UH: During my first year, I took a tutorial called “Telling tales in Ancient Greece.” We read the Iliad, the Odyssey, and other Greek and Roman stories. They were insane. I still remember them vividly.
AB: I was told to ask you about something called “Physics Monks.” What’s that about?
UH: I did research here last summer, and a buddy of mine from Singapore told me one of the things he did during breaks was go to a Buddhist monastery nearby. I was like, “Oh, that’s amazing.” Essentially, you stay at this monastery in the woods of New Hampshire. You do the routine of the monk. You go to 5 a.m. meditation, help clean the place, help make breakfast and lunch, and then you have the afternoon to yourself, followed by an evening meditation. You’re in a beautiful place, and it’s also free of charge. It was a really incredible experience, almost like a deep breath. The monks there were the chillest people and also very smart. They were showing me the solar panels and the plans for talking with the town and building them. I learned a lot.
AB: You’re part of Vista: the LatinX & Allies Student Organization, right? What does that community mean to you?
UH: Yeah, I’m the MinCo representative. It’s a great community with welcoming, smart, and kind people. I joined as a first-year and have loved it. Our fall carnival event was a highlight.
AB: You’re going to Spain over spring break right? What are you most excited about?
UH: The people I’m going to encounter, because I’m going to hike the Camino de Santiago. People from all over the world go to do that hike. It’s really rare and special to go to a place like that, where you get so many people from all over the world, all doing the same thing, and they’re all excited about it.
AB: You also lived in Costa Rica for a bit, right? Tell me about that.
UH: I lived in Costa Rica briefly when I was about eight years old. I remember living in Jacó. It’s this town by the ocean. It’s really nice. I remember throwing rocks at coconut trees to knock the coconuts down. My favorite memory from Costa Rica has to be walking on the beach. Every sunset everyone would gather to watch the sun go down and then clap when it set. In retrospect, that sounds terrible for your eyes, but everyone did it, and my eyes still work!
AB: You were also in the play Rush, right? What motivated you to join a play here?
UH: Yes, I played the house boy in this sorority. So I cleaned up the house the sorority lived in. And then, little houseboy John gets into a little trouble. I was really bored during Winter Study, and then I saw a daily message. They were looking for a guy to play a houseboy, so I said, “Screw it.” And it turned out to be really fun.
