As UW’s 2025–26 Student Regent and a doctoral student in the College of Education, polo hernández leads with heart, authenticity and a deep connection to his culture. His journey, from working with tribal communities to serving on the Board of Regents, reflects his belief that true leadership begins with simply showing up as yourself.  Read his story below!

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At the University of Washington, leadership takes many forms. For polo hernández, the 2025–26 Student Regent and a doctoral candidate in the Teaching and Learning program in the College of Education, it begins with one simple but profound idea: the act of Being.

“I want to be able to walk into any space and feel like I can be myself,” he says. “For me, and many others like me, that’s not always easy.”

For polo, Being is not about perfection or performance. It is about the daily practice of showing up as oneself, an approach that has guided him through education, service and healing. His appointment as Student Regent reflects both his scholarship and his lived experience: an ongoing effort to create belonging and opportunity for others.

Appointed by Governor Bob Ferguson, polo now serves as the voice of more than 60,000 students across the UW system. The Student Regent represents the student body on the University’s governing board, helping shape decisions that affect generations of learners. It is a role polo approaches with humility and intention. “I’m excited about bringing my whole self as Student Regent,” he says. “My unique experiences, both lived as a student and what I’ve had the privilege to learn as a professional, into this space.”

His path to this role has been anything but traditional. Born and raised in Moses Lake, Washington, polo’s early years shaped his perspective on identity and resilience. “I wasn’t fond of school and rarely attended by my senior year,” he recalls. “I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t see the relevance, or if I was just disengaged.” Those challenges, and the systems he learned to navigate, became the foundation for his calling as an educator. “I made a lot of mistakes,” he says. “But I also recognized how I was a target.”

I’m excited about bringing my whole self as Student Regent. My unique experiences, both lived as a student and what I’ve had the privilege to learn as a professional, into this space.

Working with youth labeled “at-risk,” polo found his purpose in helping others find language and agency. “They could redefine themselves every day moving forward,” he says. “Once you’re in those systems, no one is there to teach you how to navigate them.”

Over time, that commitment deepened into a broader vision of education as care and connection. His doctoral research brings together Indigenous perspectives and climate science, reflecting both his cultural heritage and his belief in relational knowledge. “The disruption to my own cultural identity has been a large part of the push,” he says. “We kept moving further from our Indigenous roots, and I never felt like I could call any one place home.”

For polo, this work is both professional and personal. “Tribal knowledge is a gift,” he explains, “a sacred exchange that carries accountability as much as wisdom.” Across Washington, he has worked alongside tribes and schools to strengthen those relationships.

He said he had the honor of working on the Spokane Indian Reservation and with the Spokane Tribe. “Working alongside the language and culture department, the natural resources department and preservation department have forever changed my life,” he says. While on the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation at Paschal Sherman Indian School, he helped students explore salmon recovery through story, ceremony and science. “The work,” he says, “forever changed my life.”

His understanding of strength and vulnerability deepened further after facing significant health challenges this past year. “It just put things into a different perspective for me,” he says. Healing — physical, emotional and spiritual — became part of his practice of Being. Through that process, he found renewed gratitude for his community and family, who reminded him of the importance of care and connection in leadership. “I’ve been feeling hopeful lately and energized by the people I’ve met,” he says. “UW is so unique and feels so special. I want others to experience that.”

Throughout his journey, polo has also witnessed how systemic inequities continue to shape people’s lives. “Racism is very real,” he says. “The tensions are very real, and they're still happening today.” Those experiences, though difficult, have strengthened his empathy and sharpened his vision of justice. “I want to live in a place, and for the broader society to treat us fairly,” he says. “It’s exhausting to not only have to walk in two worlds, but to be in spaces where I must fight to have my voice heard.”

For polo, leadership and Being are inseparable. “In our Native cultures, we choose to follow our leaders; our communities choose to follow a person.” He explains that traditionally, when a warrior prepared for battle, they would go before the head leader to ask for support, and those who joined did so by choice. His approach to the regency, and to life, is guided by this sense of mutual trust and responsibility.

Every day I try to show up as who I am. And maybe, in doing so, I make a little more room for others to do the same.

Everywhere he goes, from classrooms to board meetings, polo carries that commitment forward. “Every day,” he says, “I try to show up as who I am. And maybe, in doing so, I make a little more room for others to do the same.”

On the Board of Regents, polo finds himself learning from some of the university’s and the state’s highest leaders, from the UW president and executive team, to the governor and state officials, as well as key campus and community partners. “They each bring such thoughtful perspectives,” he says. “Meeting with President Robert J. Jones and hearing his vision, and how campus leaders approach solutions, is pretty remarkable.” For polo, those conversations are more than meetings; they’re moments of shared purpose. What inspires him most is how these leaders think beyond the present moment, honoring the past, acting with intention today and planning for the generations yet to come. It’s a way of leading that feels deeply familiar, echoing the teachings he carries with him.

At the University of Washington, polo hernández reminds us that leadership starts with how we show up — with honesty, heart and a willingness to listen. His journey invites us to lead from who we are and to make space for others to do the same.