A Bronco’s Story of Faith, Family, and Football in Pursuit of the American Dream

It’s 5 a.m., and the smell of sizzling carne asada mingles with the Carolina air as John Hernandez-Vargas helps his parents prep their food truck for the breakfast rush. His hands move with practiced rhythm, echoing the discipline he’ll need under the stadium lights as Fayetteville State University’s starting kicker. Before he ever heard a crowd’s roar or donned a Broncos jersey, John learned focus beside his parents. Each sunrise shaped the unwavering calm he now brings to every high-pressure kick. Through sacrifice, faith, and consistency, his family built more than a business. They shaped his character.

By the time most students are waking up, John has finished football practice and walks across campus toward Fayetteville State University’s new Starbucks. This daily routine bridges the intensity of early morning training with a moment of quiet before classes begin. The courtyard outside the café is quiet, sunlight just beginning to touch the Fayetteville-blue tables. Settling in, he sits at one of them, the metal cool beneath his hands, the air rich with the smell of coffee.

He carried the calm of someone shaped by early mornings, family sacrifice, and unwavering faith. Across the quad, the campus stirred to life, full of students pursuing their own visions of the same dream. Under the Carolina sky, every journey here began with a single belief: that discipline and faith can still create a future.

John was born in Pinehurst, North Carolina, to parents from Veracruz, Mexico, who came to the United States in search of opportunity. His father runs the family’s taco truck and picks up construction work when business slows. His mother spends her week preparing everything for the business. She marinates meats, chops cilantro, and blends salsas by hand.

“The mornings always smelled amazing when we started the grills,” John said. “You could smell the flavors in the air. You can’t go wrong with that.”

The food truck business began years ago with encouragement from his uncle Lupe, who already operated one in a neighboring town. Lupe urged his brother to take the same leap of faith, assuring him that pride in good food would draw people in. That advice built more than a business; it created a rhythm of hard work and trust. The same rhythm that echoes through every classroom and field at Fayetteville State.

Those mornings taught John discipline and gratitude. “My dad used to tell me, ‘This is why you go to school, so you don’t have to work under the sun or extreme temperatures like me.’ Now I understand,” he said.

Faith guided everything at home. A wooden cross and an image of “La Virgencita de Guadalupe” (Our Lady of Guadalupe) hang near the door. These are quiet reminders of who they are. Sundays meant Mass. Even when he wanted to stay home, his mother insisted. “Now I know she just wanted me to stay grounded through my faith,” he said.

That faith followed him onto the football field. Before every game, when the noise builds and nerves rise, John pauses to pray. His prayer clears his head and steadies his heart. In that brief silence before the whistle, everything else falls away.

His path to college football began in high school, when former Head Coach at Montgomery Central High School Chris Metzger saw potential others hadn’t noticed. “Coach Metzger believed in me,” John said. “He told me I could go far if I fully committed to the sport.” Encouraged, John worked harder, pushed further, and dreamed bigger.

Metzger sent John’s highlight reel to college programs, and one of them reached Fayetteville State’s Recruiting Coordinator and Tight Ends Coach Calvin Randall III. Randall saw more than numbers; he saw heart. “From the start, Coach Randall made me feel like I belonged here,” John said. “He didn’t just want me to play. He wanted me to grow as a person.”

That call led to a four-year football scholarship, the opportunity his family had prayed for. It lifted a weight from his parents’ shoulders and placed new purpose on his own. “All their sacrifices finally felt worth it,” he said. “But I knew I had to make the most of it.”

Leaving home proved harder than he expected. When his parents helped him move into his dorm, his father hugged him tight, and his mother’s eyes filled with tears. She whispered a blessing before they left. In that moment, the reality of leaving truly set in. “That moment hit me,” John said softly, a wet sheen covering his eyes. “It was the first time it felt real.” Adjusting to his new life would not be easy, but it marked the start of something important.

As he adjusted to college life, John found something familiar in his new environment. The sense of family that shaped his childhood felt alive at FSU—on the field, in the classroom, and across campus. “My teammates and I look out for each other,” he said. “It’s what makes this place special.” This new support helped John feel at home.

Now a junior majoring in business administration, John keeps a steady rhythm. Practice at seven, classes through the afternoon, workouts, and study in the evening. The structure reminds him of home. “You just have to keep showing up,” he said. “One day at a time.”

His teammates have become his second family. They push each other, celebrate together, and share a common goal. “We’re brothers,” he said. “When one of us wins, we all win.”

When he was named Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Special Teams Player of the Week, his father was the first to see the news. “He texted me the link,” John said, smiling. “Then he showed everyone at work. That meant everything to me.”

Moments like that remind him how far they’ve come. He credits his uncle for teaching him to build something lasting, his coaches for believing in him, and his parents for giving him courage and faith. “They’ve done everything for me,” he said. “Now it’s my turn.”

“FSU opened doors I never imagined for myself,” he added. “It’s the place where I discovered that hard work leads to opportunity, and that sometimes, others see your potential before you see it in yourself.”

John stands tall in both his heritage and ambitions. He is both American and rooted in his Mexican heritage; together, they form one story—a journey shaped by love, faith, and perseverance. Every step he takes pays tribute to his family’s sacrifices and proves that hope continues to build futures beneath the Carolina sky.

The wind lifted through the courtyard, clinking the blue umbrellas. Standing, John gazed at a distance. The air smelled of coffee and, for a brief imagined moment, of his hometown’s pine scent. Home felt close again: the mornings by the grill, his mother’s laughter, his father’s quiet pride.

He smiled, offered a warm hug, and walked into the stream of students heading to class.

His story lingers because it captures something rare and familiar. This is more than a student’s journey or a game won. It’s about the power of family, faith, and opportunity. These are the very values that built Fayetteville State and continue to shape every student who calls it home, connecting John’s journey back to the larger community.

It’s a reminder that the American dream is not bound to one community or culture. It belongs to everyone willing to reach for it. And under the Carolina sky, those stories come together, interlaced through faith, effort, and hope that refuses to fade.

Before every game, as the world holds its breath, John whispers the exact words that have carried his family across years and miles.

“Gracias, Dios” (thank you, God), a quiet prayer of thanks that echoes through everything he does.