Soaring with an Astronaut at Workman Junior High
Jose Hernandez doesn ’ t just talk perseverance : He ’ s a walking neon sign of tenacity and resolve .
During a presentation to the Workman Junior High student body , the astronaut who soared into space on the space shuttle Discovery told his audience how he ’ d applied to NASA ’ s space training program 11 times and received 11 thanks-but-no-thanks letters . Each time he would look closely at the credentials of the people chosen to see what he had to do to get one of those coveted slots , as only 12 to 15 people are chosen each year out of 18,000 applicants .
Hernandez noticed they were usually pilots . So he became one . They were master scuba divers , so he accomplished that feat as well . They were above-average athletes . He started competing in marathons .
“ I never gave up even though at times I really wanted to ,” said Hernandez , whose dream of becoming an astronaut started around age 10 . “ That ’ s the important thing . Keep striving despite the odds and despite the circumstances around you . Don ’ t give up .”
Workman Principal Inelda Acosta wanted Hernandez to speak with her students to hear just that . Don ’ t give up . Keep striving .
Hernandez ’ s story of persistence didn ’ t start with the rejections . As migrant workers from Mexico , he and his family traveled by following the vegetable and fruit harvest starting in Southern California and finishing in the northern part of the state . Then they would spend three months in Mexico , which meant Hernandez and his siblings bounced around to different schools every three months .
It wasn ’ t until the family took the advice of a teacher and settled in one place – Stockton , Calif . – that Hernandez begin clicking as a student . When he watched the Apollo 11 mission that included Neil Armstrong walking on the moon , he was hooked .
Hernandez graduated from the University of the Pacific in 1984 with a bachelor of science in electrical engineering and earned a master ’ s of science in electrical and computer engineering from the University of California-Santa Barbara . Now his commitments are to promote the importance of education and hurdling over obstacles .
In fact , Hernandez told students to see obstacles as a good thing . Growing up working in the fields “ gave me this great work ethic ,” Hernandez said .
“ At an early age I had the determination to not be afraid of hard work ,” he said . “ It really helped me during the challenges I had to overcome as an astronaut . So dream and dream big . Don ’ t let anything get in the way of that .”
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