Mark Hernandez-Guerra is often described by those who know him as someone who has a maturity beyond his 18 years, and who believes that his actions always speak louder than his words.
Now, having graduated May 29 with a full-ride scholarship to study biochemistry at the University of Pennsylvania before going to medical school, Hernandez-Guerra’s time at Southern Lehigh High School will be remembered through his devotion to serving his community and inspiring those around him to do the same.
Hernandez-Guerra said his time in the Lehigh Valley school district began in third grade with what he described as “a roller coaster” following his parents’ divorce and subsequent transfer from Quakertown Community School District, where he remembers needing to help support his mother and sister during the early years of the transition.
“I had to provide a lot of support for my mom because she was very young still and it’s all firsts for us,” Hernandez-Guerra said. “First time living alone, first time getting an apartment, first time moving to a new school district.”
It was also during this time that Hernandez-Guerra began to pursue his interests as a way to redirect his stressors; he joined many of the clubs his sophomore year that he would continue into his senior year.
Hernandez-Guerra said some of his most prominent involvements in high school include his work in Southern Lehigh’s chapter of No Place for Hate, becoming the club’s president and helping to put together the high school’s multicultural fair in December, showcasing both his Guatemalan culture as well as the culture of other students.
Hernandez-Guerra also was involved in the school’s theater company, where he helped bring productions such as “Legally Blonde” and “The Addams Family” to life through the creation and placement of set pieces. Hernandez-Guerra wasn’t able to continue working in the theater his senior year due to scheduling conflicts with another club.
Hernandez-Guerra also was pivotal in helping the Future Civic Leaders of America, formerly known as the Junior Statesmen of America, with the club’s mock elections and voter registration drives. His work with the club extended to helping run volunteer programs that allow high school students to work at polling stations during elections.
“His work within the JSA is probably, I think, one of his greatest accomplishments,” SLHS Principal Joshua Miller said. “I think that his work there has been very beneficial for a lot of our kids to get to see a much broader scope of the world besides what we do in the high school.”
Mark Hernandez-Guerra, a graduating senior at Southern Lehigh High School, talks Thursday, May 28, 2026, about his high school experience. Hernandez-Guerra participated in several clubs, including No Place for Hate and Future Civic Leaders of America, helping to get his fellow students involved both in the high school and wider community, along with being a stage crew member for several high school theater productions, such as “Legally Blonde” and “The Addams Family.” (Monica Cabrera/The Morning Call)
Miller, who met Hernandez-Guerra in 2022 when he was a freshman, said his influence on students around him is what gives him confidence that what he has done will not leave Southern Lehigh with him.
“He’s done a really good job of actually training younger students and bringing them with what he’s doing with all these activities and showing them, ‘this is what we plan,’ ‘this is how we do it,’ ” Miller said. “He just didn’t do something and then just leave. He was really trying to create a positive influence moving forward.”
Brian Dow, Future Civic Leaders’ faculty adviser, said he met Hernandez-Guerra in the civics and government class he teaches to freshmen. Dow recommended the teen join the club due to his passion for politics and community activism, along with his natural leadership abilities.
Dow said Hernandez-Guerra helped create a “community of caring” at Southern Lehigh in part through the “anti-apathy” nature of the clubs he joined, and was impressed with how Hernandez-Guerra was able to accomplish so much despite his workload.
“You don’t see that in a whole lot of high school students to have the ability to follow through and get things done when they put so much on their plate,” Dow said.
Hernandez-Guerra said his motivation to continue being involved stems from wanting to get the most out of everything he does, and people should actively search for opportunities where they can find those same feelings of fulfillment.
“I don’t enjoy the idea of being involved in many things and not really having an actual role in them and just saying you’re a part of this club, even though you have no real accomplishments or actual products you’ve made in these clubs or these organizations,” Hernandez-Guerra said. “You also want to make sure you’re enjoying it because doing things for a long time that you don’t enjoy just leads to burnout, and burnout doesn’t lead to anything good, so I’ve always made sure I’m doing things I enjoy and I want to put my time into it.”