Jose Hernandez was rejected 11 times by NASA before being accepted to the astronaut program.
Hernandez, an immigrant with an aptitude for math and science who graduated from that university,
eventually emerged from the highly-competitive process,
and “spent 14 days in space in 2009 as a flight engineer aboard Space Shuttle Mission STS-128.”
As ABC7 reported back in January, the Hernandez family came to the U.S. as migrant farm workers,
and settled in Stockton. The article noted, “Jose couldn’t speak English until he was 12 years old,
but STEM subjects spoke to him.”
“I gravitated towards math because 1 + 3 is 4 in any language,” Hernandez said.
Jose wanted to become an astronaut by age 10, and when he told his father,
his father laid out a five-part recipe for success.
First, set a goal, then recognize how far you are from that goal.
Next, draw a road map to where you want to go, get an education, and finally, do hard work.
His own advice to those who want to succeed is very similar.
He notes, “Hard work and perseverance and not being afraid to dream big”
are the ingredients to success.
Jose Hernandez was highlighted in a recent ABC News story last week,
titled, “How an immigrant farmworker beat the odds to become a NASA astronaut.”
And by next, should all go to plan, Hernandez’s story will be available in the form of a Netflix movie.