Steven Fernandez

Steven Fernandez serves as the Director of Student Opportunity and Achievement Resources (SOAR) at Baylor University, focused on providing resources and programming to support Baylor’s diverse student population.  In that role, Steven directs the McNair Scholars Program which assists low-income, first generation and other underrepresented students in acquiring the knowledge, skills and capacities necessary to successfully navigate a path to a Ph.D. program following graduation. Steven also oversees Baylor’s Student Financial Wellness Program, Food Insecurity and Basic Needs efforts as well as Baylor’s Avanzando Through College (ATC) program, which is a collaboration with UnidosUS aimed at equipping Latino students with the skills, information, and support systems needed to identify student services, improve academic performance, and graduate from college.

Steven's work is dedicated to increasing access for first generation and underrepresented students and serves as Chair for Baylor’s Latinx Student Success Initiatives (LSSI) and several other projects aimed at supporting Baylor students. Steven is an executive member of the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE) for Central Texas and currently serves as the President for the National McNair Association of Professionals (MAP) which is dedicated to fostering and promoting high standards of professional practices and advocating for McNair Scholars Programs at the national level.

Steven was born in Front Royal, Virginia, grew up in Uruguay before moving back to the United States, and graduating from Florida International University in Miami, FL as a first-generation college student. Steven holds a Masters in Global Governance and a B.A. in International Relations, Political Science, and Geography. He joined the Baylor family is 2018 accompanied by his wife Kimberly Fernandez and son Maxwell.