by Alecsandria Davis ’20
Derek Hernandez, a Colby student, moved to Waterville from New York in 2017. He had just recently become active in his faith, and he was excited to get plugged into a religious community in the area. He met some of the leaders from Kingdom Life Church and joined as quickly as he could. “I knew that I didn’t want to live a life without being faithfully connected to Jesus and God, and I knew in college it isn’t easy, so that was the first thing that I wanted to get done.” He talks about meeting people and getting more connected until eventually “I don’t even know how, but I essentially became Michelle’s son… I was just tucked under her wing.”
Michelle Franzose and her husband Ricky are the founders of the Least of These ministry at Kingdom Life Church. This ministry works to meet the needs of the homeless population in Waterville. They also take a big trip to Boston on Thanksgiving each year to hand out hundreds of backpacks stocked with essential items for the winter. When Thanksgiving break rolled around, Derek realized he could spend a lot of money to go home for just a few days, or he could take an opportunity to give back and join the Least of These trip to Boston.
“What God wants to do is just create a wave [of blessing] … The people are the wave, and if the people aren’t joining in the wave then it’s not gonna move.” Derek has joined the wave in many different ways during his time at Colby. During his first year, he participated in Lives of Purpose, which sends students to the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter as volunteers. The following year, he did an Alternative Spring Break trip to volunteer in Houston. Derek also volunteers at a local gym. Derek’s generosity stems from a core philosophy: “If it was given to me, how can I give it to others?” He wants to continue to give back through his involvement with ministries at Kingdom Life Church and in the wider community.
“The way I approach everything and anything in life is if God wants it for me, or if God takes me there or gives this to me, it’s because he wants me to create something better.” Volunteering interests Derek not only as an opportunity to give back as much as possible, but also as a way to gain perspective: the more you volunteer, the more sides of the story you hear and understand. He thinks this is especially important for Colby students in Waterville.
Derek is excited to see the progress in bringing the Colby and Waterville communities together, but he knows it won’t happen overnight. He encourages students to start with “just interacting… just going to a local store and talking to a clerk, that what’s going to move the wave.” He believes that starting with communication and kindness will lead to action. As for action, Derek keeps it simple: just do something, absolutely anything, for someone and expect nothing in return.