Giffords’ intern honored for heroism

A student intern who helped save the life of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords doesn't believe he's a hero, but he cannot escape the acclaim.

On Saturday, 21-year-old Daniel Hernandez Jr., a University of Arizona student, came to Philadelphia to accept a heroism award at the 19th annual Equality Forum, which focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights.

Hernandez, a gay member of Tucson City's commission to promote GLBT issues, said during an interview in Center City that he doesn't meet his own definition of a hero: someone who dedicates his or her life to helping others, such as a doctor, nurse or teacher.

In January, Hernandez became known worldwide after he rushed to help Giffords when she was shot in the head during a mass slaying in Tucson that left six dead, including a 9-year-old girl.

Hernandez was interning for Giffords when the gunman began firing at the supermarket where the congresswoman was holding a meet-and-greet.

With triage training he had received, Hernandez directed others how to help the wounded as he cared for Giffords. He raised her head in his lap, applied pressure to her wound, and kept her stable until medics arrived.

Doctors immediately recognized the efforts as lifesaving, and Hernandez became a hero.

"I just did what anyone else would do," he told reporters Saturday during interviews at the Sofitel on South 17th Street, hours before he received his latest award.

Hernandez is humbled by the attention, he said. He respectfully disagrees with President Obama's remarks at January's State of Union speech when Hernandez sat with the First Lady on his 21st birthday.

"Daniel, I'm sorry, you may deny it, but we've decided you are a hero because you ran through the chaos to minister to your boss and tended to her wounds and helped keep her alive," the President said.

Hernandez responded Saturday, "It's hard to disagree with the President, but I'm going to keep doing it because, I think, really the people that are heroes are people who have dedicated their lives to public service and have really made a concerted effort to help others."

Giffords, he said, is a hero.

Hernandez, a political science major at the University of Arizona, said he hopes to be that person in 20 to 30 years through work that helps others and promotes civil rights. He wrote legislation, passed in Arizona, recognizing that full-time students should be afforded the same time workers receive to vote. He sees a need for greater educational opportunities, especially for children. Reforms are needed to care for the mentally ill, he said. His list is long.

He doesn't predict his future. Earlier this year, he ran for student president and lost by a wide margin, a defeat Hernandez said helped free his time, now in great demand. He's confident there will be many more opportunities.

Chip Alfred, communications director for the Equality Forum, said Hernandez had been selected for the newly created heroism award because his actions made him stand out as a role model, a phrase Hernandez said he is comfortable accepting.

"He's a role model for young people," Alfred said. "He's a role model for everyone."

Hernandez said that while the gay and Latino communities have recognized him as a role model, it's his desire to help others that he identifies with.

"I may be a member of this community . . . but it's not what defines me," Hernandez said, adding that he does not want to become the face of any one group.

"The way to get things done is not by shutting yourself off, becoming insular and demanding things. You work with others, you build coalitions and you build consensus," Hernandez said.

Also recognized Saturday were Lt. Dan Choi and former Democratic Congressman Patrick Murphy of Bucks County.

Last year, Choi, a West Point graduate, Iraq war veteran and Arabic linguist, was discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy governing military personnel's disclosure of sexual orientation and advocated to repeal the policy. Murphy was the author and chief sponsor of the bill to repeal the policy, which Obama later signed.