Jose Hernandez — the first Hispanic American astronaut in space — spoke to students at Nedderman Hall Thursday night about his life from farm worker to space traveler. In his blue NASA jumpsuit, he narrated his journey from the bottom to the beyond and gave students some perspective on what they can accomplish.

Hernandez was raised in a migrant family in California. As a child, he grew up picking fruits and vegetables with his family throughout the state. His schooling was, in a way, nomadic because his family would move to different parts of California three times a year. Eventually, his family did settle down and that’s when his education took traction.

He remembers the moment he decided to become an astronaut while watching the Apollo 17 mission — the last mission to the moon — on his black & white television in 1972. That day, Hernandez told his father his dream and his father, in turn, gave him a plan on how to achieve it — although it wasn’t easy to start from the very bottom of working society.

“I didn’t have any access myself, it’s just a matter of education being the key,” said Hernandez. Continue reading