06/19/2026
📣Get to Know Your Northshore Y!📣
Once a month, we plan to highlight one of our Y staff. We'd love 🥰 for you to meet employees you might not regularly see.
🌞For June, we'd like to introduce Noriel Hernandez! He is volunteering/interning as our Healthy Living Ambassador for his senior project at Bellevue College.
Here is his Y story: 👀
➡️In 2012 my family joined the Kearney Family YMCA in Nebraska. What I loved the most was the small arcade area. My favorite games were Jurassic Park and a snowmobile racing game. I always looked forward to playing them whenever we visited.
➡️My dad signed my brothers and I up to play soccer, giving us an opportunity to get involved in sports and meet new people. When I was 20 years old, my mom signed our family up for a membership at Northshore YMCA. I immediately began using the workout facilities. It quickly became part of my routine, and I would often run into my brothers there as well. One of the things I love most about the Y is the welcoming atmosphere. Every time I walk through the doors, the staff at the front desk are friendly and genuinely happy to see me. That sense of belonging was especially clear on my first day of work. Andrew was there to greet me with a smile and even had a locker ready for my skateboard, making me feel like part of the team from day one.
➡️I will graduate from Bellevue College on June 27, and I am excited to continue working at the Y after graduation. From the conversations and connections I've made with everyone at the front desk to working alongside Rakeem, our Facilities Director, I've enjoyed every aspect of being part of this organization. The Y has been a meaningful part of my life for many years, and I am grateful for the opportunity to continue contributing to a community that has given so much to me. 👨🎓
