Effie Hernandez
By LORI EDMO-SUPPAH
Sho-Ban News
FORT HALL — Effie Hernandez is running for Miss Shoshone-Bannock.
She is the daughter of Chemille “Angie” H. Fisher and Aaron Brewer. She is the granddaughter of the late Joyce Ballard and Angelo Hernandez. Her escort will be her stepfather Glenn Fisher.
Effie will be dancing traditional and for her traditional dish will prepare “Dah-ho.” Her traditional talent is poetry.
She learned her cultural values from both her Mexican and Native American families. “I have always been influenced by my family members to learn the language, dance, pray, and listen to the stories of our elders. To be proud of who you are, where you come from, and to never feel ashamed.”
Effie said as a junior in high school, she became familiar with a program called Helping Orient Indigenous Student and Teachers (HOIST). HOIST helps native youth to find interests in STEM related fields that is held every year at the University of Idaho’s campus.
She realized it was where she wanted to continue her higher education. “Within my five years at the University of Idaho, I became involved with the Native American Student Center, Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), The Women’s Center, Vandal Reps, a Multicultural Connector, served three years as a HOIST mentor, and worked as a supervisor at A&W.”
She said each position inspired her to do more for herself and for others. “I received recognition and certificates in every position that I have listed.” Her favorite certificate was being named “Frybread Queen” because every year no one ever wanted to make the bread. She always joked and said, “Without the frybread, could you even call it a powwow?”
Her last two years at the University of Idaho helped her realize who she wanted to become and that was to be someone who helped changed a person’s life. Through my college experience, “I’ve had mentors who changed my life forever, and they’ve helped me become the person that I am today. With their support, I graduated college and was able to come back home to apply the knowledge I had learned.”
She currently works for the University of Idaho-Idaho Falls Center, and her title is Assistant Director of Recruitment. “Every day I get to help high school students apply to college, fill out their FAFSA, and apply for scholarships,” she said.
If she were to become Miss Shoshone-Bannock she would like to be a positive role model and serve the community.
She plans on continuing her education by starting her master’s degree program in the spring following in her grandmother’s footsteps of helping Native youth succeed in higher education.