Ariana Gallardo
Mexican-American engineer and former NASA astronaut José M. Hernández was inspired at the age of 10 in December 1972 after viewing the Apollo 17 moon walk, which started his journey to become an astronaut.
After being rejected 11 times from the NASA space program Hernández did not give up on his dream. He said that his aspirations motivated him to push past every obstacle in his path.
“Instead of looking at the glass half empty, I always looked at it half full because [of] my journey to trying to become an astronaut,” Hernandez said. “It motivated me to finish high school, finish college in engineering, go to graduate school, work that world premiere research facility, and so all the steps I was taken to prepare myself to become an astronaut was helping my career.”
He said being a Mexican American allows him to be a symbol for hispanic children to dream big and to know that there are people like them who succeeded in their dreams.
“Imagine if I’m out in communities such as this where the kids can take a picture with me and they see that I look like them, I speak like them,” Hernández said “I probably come from a similar socioeconomic background that they have, and it’s going to be an empowerment is going to say, Hey, he was able to do it, why can’t I?’”
He said after all his accomplishments he never forgot where he came from and is ready for the next chapter in his career. Hernandez continues to reinvent himself to see the bigger picture of what he can do.
He created his own winery called Tierra Luna Cellars which was inspired by his experience being a migrant worker.
He published three books describing his journey of becoming an astronaut for children, teens and adults.
Hernández wants young people to see him as an example of starting from the ground and moving upwards with their dreams.
“I think I just want to see them,” he said. “See me as an example of what they can do themselves and what they can achieve. I’m not superhuman. I’m no Einstein. I’m just a hard worker. It’s the good old farm work that has made me successful is that work ethic my parents instilled in me that work hard. You know, it’s the old saying the harder I work, the luckier I get.”
This is Ariana Gallardo for Vaquero Radio
