Today, Rep. Grace F. Napolitano hosted astronaut Jose Hernandez as he visited Pueblo School in Pomona, 4th Street Elementary in East L.A., and Lampton Elementary in Norwalk, sharing his story with students and encouraging them to seek higher education.
“If you ever have a dream, never stop trying,” Hernandez said. “I applied to NASA twelve times before I was selected. Three things inspired me: working in the fields and looking up at the stars, watching the Apollo 17 mission on TV, and the first Latino astronaut, Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz.”
Hernandez began life as the son of migrant farm workers, learning English at age 12 before ultimately attending college and graduate school, distinguishing himself as an engineer, and serving on the U.S. space station, where he performed scientifically critical tasks while orbiting miles above the surface of the earth.
Hernandez visited the three schools at the request of Rep. Napolitano.
“Today is a great day for our schools,” Napolitano said. “We are honored to have Jose Hernandez here to motivate our students to reach for the stars.”
