Around the World with Adit: Jonnathan Fernandez
It is said that a parent will do anything for their child.
In 1999, Angel Fernandez and Rocio Bunay crossed the U.S. border through Mexico and California, taking six-month-old Jonnathan Fernandez.
"My parents just want us to have a better chance of education and living," said current Chicago State cross country runner Jonnathan Fernandez.
Escaping the hardships that came with Ecuador's economic crisis at the time, it took around six months for Angel and Rocio to get from Ecuador to the Mexico-California border, where they would cross to the States.
According to them, the journey of going through the US border was by no means safe. Kidnapping, raids, and even violent treatment from officials were known to happen at the border.
Angel and Rocio chose to risk their lives to provide opportunities for them and their family. It paid off as Jonnathan is now documented as a legal alien under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA policy, which is only eligible for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children with no recorded felony or serious misdemeanor.
Angel and Rocio only went as far as middle school in their education, a situation that limits their job opportunities here in the States. While this may sound unfortunate, Jonnathan sees it as something that helped him be who he is now.
"All the other kids in elementary school would brag about their new Pokemon cards, and I couldn't really get into that because my family couldn't afford it," Jonnathan said. "It excluded me from some things that I wanted to be a part of."
Jonnathan believes this made him into someone that does not feel obligated to follow trends.
"I'm not even into TikTok," he said.
Despite the positives, his parents understood that education that they never got is essential.
They always say "echale ganas a la educacion," which translates to "put effort in your education."
A motto that made Jonnathan a person that thrives in challenging himself.
"When it came the time for me to decide on where I want to go to high school, I thought that I don't want to go to the neighborhood high school," Jonnathan said. "Being in the same environment with kids that I have been going to school to my whole life won't challenge me."
That's when he found cross country. Couple Elias and Lorri Yurick encouraged Jonnathan to run cross country for their team in Von Steuben Metropolitan High School.
"I'm not a freak athlete that can dunk over other people, but I have always been athletic," Jonnathan said. "They see potential in me and think that I can get somewhere as a runner."
The meeting with the Yuricks not only gave Jonnathan a chance to go out of his comfort zone but also introduced him to the sport that he'll be committing to for years to come.
To Jonnathan, his experience at Von Steuben is one of the best of his life. He got to be in a diverse community that challenged himself athletically and academically.
But like everything, it had to come to an end. Jonnathan had to consider his options when he graduated high school, especially since college is not cheap.
But the blessings that came with cross country didn't stop at Von Steuben, a runner acquaintance of Jonnathan, referred him to Robert Morris University in downtown Chicago.
And just by coincidence, the coach of RMU at the time was current Chicago State cross country head coach Paul Zavala.
"RMU was a great place," Jonnathan said. "I met phenomenal people that I could exchange ideas with, and the professors are caring."
Unfortunately, the expenses of RMU didn't allow Jonnathan to stay. To keep moving on with his education, he chose to go to a community college for his second year of college.
Jonnathan had to go through unpleasant events during that one year at the community college.
First, he had to go through an issue with the advertised financial aid amount different from what he received. It led to him going to cross country to get an athletic scholarship, despite planning to sit out.
"The vision of that college team does not align with mine," he said. "The teammates are great people to hang out with, but they are not the kind of people that I would like to train and compete with."
Then he also had to deal with racism.
Through the many years of living in the States, Jonnathan had never truly had an experience of racism until he went to community college.
"I was just minding my own business and eating my lunch at the cafeteria when someone walked up to me," he said. "The guy said, 'you don't belong in this school, all Mexicans should be deported!'"
"I'm not Mexican!"
That happened to him multiple times, and when Jonnathan tried to defend himself, he had to go through more trouble with the school's administration. So he chose to keep to himself while he was there.
It is a part of his life that he seems to hate to recall.
The light at the end of the tunnel does show to the people that did their due. Jonnathan found fortune in creating good relationships; Paul Zavala, Jonnathan's former coach at RMU, referred him to Craig Collins, now former coach of Chicago State cross country.
He was then looking for a distance runner, and it so happens that Jonnathan was the perfect guy for that.
He went for a visit at Chicago State right after a race, and he liked the program. He connected well with Coach Collins right off the bat and decided to sign with the Cougars. He figured things out with the community college, "washed my hands, and hightailed out of there," he said.
Unfortunately, his roundabout few years generated another wall in front of him as Jonnathan had to deal with transcript and eligibility issues resulting from the community college. Due to that, Jonnathan had to sit out on his first year, and then COVID happened, which made him sit two years out at Chicago State.
But now, he is just happy to be back to running this year with the Cougars. Jonnathan's good track record and ability to balance school and athletics granted him a full scholarship, which is the opportunity he was looking for.
On top of that, at Chicago State, he studied, competed, and practiced with people that made him happy. It gave Jonnathan another opportunity to complete his bachelor's degree in computer science eventually.
Jonnathan feels grateful to cross country that keeps him on track and allows him to go to college. Which is ultimately one of the main reasons his parents crossed the border in the first place. Although his parent was skeptical at first, especially since his sister took up the cross country just to drop it, now they are happy that Jonnathan pulled through and stuck with it.
"Cross country is the reason I can go to college," he said. Ultimately, that is part of the reason his parents took him to the States when they did.
Jonnathan is committed to leaving a mark in this last year with Chicago State, and he aims to beat the school record in the 8k by the end of the season. After graduating, he is looking to travel and possibly race in a marathon.
