The Jaguars kicked off their recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month with a flourish, announcing the winner of this year's Somos DUUUVAL Award, hosting a Somos DUUUVAL Jaguars PREP youth football camp at Greenfield Elementary, hosted a food distribution for 250 Hispanic families at Roca De Salvacion and announcing their sponsorship of the FCHCC Achieving the Dream Gala and DCPS Essay Contest.

Monica Hernandez provided the high point of the kickoff when she was named the Somos DUUUVAL Award winner before the Jaguars home opener against the Indianapolis Colts. Hernandez story is the rise of a young girl who emigrated with her family from Cali, Columbia to Ocala, Florida with the dream of a successful life in the United States. Her education at UNF got her started on a road in the financial services sector and a Masters from Nova Southeastern and a stint at Harvard studying strategic management fueled her rise through Deutsche Bank to her current position as the Vice President of Asset Services Control within Global Markets at Bank of America.

Along the way Monica became an established leader in the Hispanic community and that leadership took her to the Presidency of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce where she elevated the organization in north Florida through a number of different initiatives.

"My journey in the community started as I began to lead an employee resource group to create eventand programing celebrating various cultures and races," she said. "It really allowed me to discover another passion and see how much more I could help in the community. After overseeing the employee resource group, I joined FCHCC and continued to see how much of an impact together we could make. Here I am…5 years later! A wonderful journey with many learnings, stories, but most importantly, opportunities to do more."

The Jaguars were drawn to Hernandez as the Somos DUUUVAL Award winner because of the scope of her work in the community which included efforts to provide scholarships and promote education and bring awareness to food insecurity in our community. Her story is one of service to a community she strongly believes in.

The Somos DUUUVAL Award provides a $1500 grant from the Jaguars Foundation which will assist Hernandez in her endeavors. It also helps fuel a partnership with the Jaguars and their desire to create positive outcomes in the Hispanic community which is growing rapidly in north Florida, by recognizing scholarship recipients of the Hispanic/Latino Achieving the Dream program.

"It is a great honor to be recognized by the Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation with the Somos DUUUVAL Award," Hernandez said on Sunday. "I hope to continue to push the envelope, challenge the 'status quo' and represent the Hispanic community in northeast Florida.