Hermelinda Hernandez Monjaras is a graduate student receiving her MFA in creative writing, poetry. She represents the Department of English and is the 2024 undergraduate Dean’s Medalist.
Monjaras said she has overcome many obstacles in order to excel in poetry, growing up as a DACA recipient and DREAMER student.
“I turned to poetry as a way to express and communicate my thoughts out loud. It became a way to come together both body and mind and depict the difficulties of being a DACAmented/ Dreamer student,” said Monjaras. “It was also a sanctuary where I could figuratively inhabit and find myself in all the chaos.”
Monrajas took her first poetry class in community college and has been honing her craft since then. She has an extensive publishing history and has won many awards.
“Hermelinda Hernandez Monjaras is an incredibly talented poet and writer who has distinguished herself by publishing in over fifteen recognized literary journals in just the past five years,” said Dr. Brynn Saito. “This is truly astonishing. In contrast, many MFA students don’t even begin to publish their work until after they have graduated from the program. She has also received sixteen literary prizes and scholarships, which is completely unprecedented.”
Her works have been published in places such as the Academy of American Poets, Undocupoetics: An Introduction (forthcoming from HarperCollins), and The Fresno 15: Creative Writing Marathon, a fundraiser to benefit the Larry Levis Memorial Scholarship.
Monjaras has taught three courses in the MFA program: two English composition classes and a poetry class. She has been co-editor in school literary journals such as the Hmong American Ink & Stories, and she has been a reader in poetry competitions such as the Philip Levine Poetry Prize, Noemi Press contests, Firecracker Awards and the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize.
“As a first-generation DACA student completing her degree in poetry, Hermelinda is perhaps the most accomplished emerging writer in our program,” said Dr. Mai Der Vang, assistant professor.
Monjaras has extensive community service experience, including involvement with the Bulldog Pantry and transcribing audio/video recordings from poets who read at Fresno State.
“Thanks to the literary community support of writers and family members, I’ve been able to work hard and persevere despite the obstacles of my upbringing. All those calm and desperate nights have brought so much hope, music and poetry in my everyday life,” Monjaras said.
“She has opened doors to writers, poets, our library readers, and our professors, that never thought they had such a creative home on our campus,” said Juan Felipe Herrera. “I applaud Ms. Hermelinda Hernandez Monjaras for strengthening our Laureate Lab and our students’ joyous discoveries of art and word.”
The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State 