As part of The Agile Mind series, Stong College is presenting a talk by York’s Hernán Humaña, titled "Beyond the First Year: Opportunities for Success at University", on Thursday, March 13, from 2 to 3:30pm, in Sylvester’s, 201 Stong College, Keele campus.
As the former head coach of the women’s volleyball team at York – a position he held for 10 seasons until he retired last year – Humaña (MA ’92) received an Ontario University Athletics East Coach of the Year Award three times. He also served as the former head coach for Canadian beach volleyball Olympians Mark Heese and John Child, leading the duo to a bronze medal in the Olympic games in Atlanta. Following the games, the Coaching Association of Canada presented Humaña with the prestigious Wittnauer Coaching Excellence Award. Humaña went on to coach the team to its fifth place finish in Sydney.
Right: Hernán Humaña
During his talk, Humaña will discuss how students can approach the summer following their first year of university whether or not they did well. He will also discuss what they should be focusing on in either situation.
"I will give tips for those who would like to go to professional schools, graduate schools, international exchange programs and about what other options there are," says Humaña. "In a word, I want students to start thinking about their options and how they can best achieve them."
Humaña, who began his coaching career at York in 1985, teaches in York’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science and is the academic adviser at Stong College. His first position was the fill-in coach for the men’s volleyball team, while coach Wally Dyba was on sabbatical. Humaña returned to the coaching ranks at York in 1993 when he became the fill-in for then head coach of the women’s volleyball team, Merv Mosher, while he was on sabbatical. The 1997-1998 season was Humaña’s first as head coach of the women’s volleyball team.
Born in Chile, Humaña received his licenciatura degree (physical education) from the University of Chile prior to moving to Canada. For 11 seasons, he was a member of the Chilean national volleyball team, while also coaching the country’s juvenile national team.
For more information, visit the Stong College Web site.