ASMPH alum Dr Kat Hernandez wins silver in ASEAN Games 2025 para powerlifting

Dr Katrina Marie "Kat" Hernandez, a graduate of the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health (ASMPH) Batch 2018, recently won a silver medal in para powerlifting at the 2025 ASEAN Para Games held in Korat, Thailand.

Competing in the women’s 86kg category, Dr Kat successfully lifted 80kg on her opening attempt and 85kg on her second lift to secure the silver medal. She attempted 95kg in her final lift. Indonesia claimed gold in the event, while Myanmar took bronze. “Winning silver was deeply meaningful, not just as an athlete, but as a person with a disability,” she shares. “It reminded me that there is so much more to life than the disability itself.” 

Dr Kat has lived with a disability since childhood. Earlier in life and through medical school, she mainly used leg braces, and transitioned to using a wheelchair in the last 5 years. While her parents had long encouraged her to try para sports, she admits that she resisted for many years, choosing instead to focus on completing medical school. 

It was after the pandemic that para sports re-entered her life, encouraged by her partner, who wanted her to connect more with the disabled community. At the time, Dr Kat had already become more serious about going to the gym, but it was her partner who reached out to the para powerlifting team on her behalf. What she thought would be a simple introduction turned out to be a tryout—and from that point on, she never stopped training. 

Powerlifting quickly became more than a competitive pursuit. As she grew stronger, Dr Kat noticed how training translated into daily life, making it easier for her to move around in her wheelchair. While the training was not always easy, it gave her confidence, a sense of community, and a new relationship with her body. 

For Dr Kat, seeing disability as ability did not come from a single defining moment. Instead, it developed gradually through experience and reflection. “For most of my life, I was trying to prove that I was thriving despite my disability,” she says. 

Today, she describes herself as being in a new chapter—one where she is learning to live fully with her disability and integrate it into who she is. This shift is reflected in her advocacy platform, "Kat Out of the Box," where she shares content aimed at changing how people see persons with disabilities and challenging stigma. Through her posts and videos, Dr Kat documents everyday realities—from navigating poorly designed ramps to pulling herself up obstacles made inaccessible by infrastructure—highlighting the gaps that persons with disabilities continue to face in the Philippines. 

Dr Hernandez credits her formation in Ateneo and ASMPH with shaping how she sees both life and medicine. That formation, she says, has also influenced her advocacy for disability awareness and empowerment. She currently practices as a general practitioner, holds clinics, and teaches in ASMPH and the University of the Philippines Manila, while also pursuing her sports career. 

At ASMPH, she teaches clinical cases and handles clinical preceptorials, favoring interactive and collaborative discussions. At UP Manila, she teaches disability sensitivity and awareness for incoming interns, helping future doctors see persons with disabilities not just as cases, but as people with full lives, agency, and context. 

Looking ahead, Dr Kat Hernandez defines success as finding fulfillment, peace, and pride in what she does. In medicine, she is content balancing her roles as clinician and educator. In sports, she remains focused on improving, climbing the rankings, and working toward her goal of competing in the Paralympics. As someone visible in both medicine and sports, Dr Kat hopes her SEA Games achievement helps open conversations around disability. “I hope that when people see my story, they see that it’s possible to live a productive, meaningful life while living with a disability,” she says.