SE Valley Times

José Hernández looked at the 70 faces in front of him and knew what they were thinking. Hernández, a former NASA astronaut, was speaking to students who had gathered at Arizona State University for the weeklong Migratory Student Summer Academy, an Arizona Department of Education-funded enrichment program that encourages high-school-aged children of migrant seasonal farmworkers to consider futures in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).

Hernández understood their thoughts because he was once one of them—the son of a migrant farming family from Mexico who spent much of his childhood on the "California circuit," picking strawberries and cucumbers. A career in STEM, much less becoming an astronaut, seemed like a fantasy.

"There was a minimization of what I wanted to do," Hernández said. "It was (a condescending), 'That's nice. Look at him. He wants to be an astronaut. Good for him.'"

Asked if the dismissive response had to do with him being Hispanic or because he was picking fruit, Hernández gave a one-word reply: "Both."

But on this Friday afternoon in Old Main, as Hernández spoke to the ninth-to-12th-grade students and their parents in English and Spanish, he told them they didn’t have to settle for the life they’re expected to lead.

"Society as a whole does not give them the license, the expectation that they can do these things," Hernández told ASU News. "But my forte is inspiring kids that look like me and speak like me and come from perhaps similar socioeconomic backgrounds."

The families of 70 high school students who attended ASU's Migratory Student Summer Academy accompanied them to a talk by former NASA astronaut José Hernández at the conclusion of the weeklong experience.

Students at the summer academy lived in campus dormitories for the week and received an introduction to STEM subjects at university labs. They visited the School of Earth and Space Exploration and saw a duplicate of the 2020 Mars Perseverance rover, which includes an ASU-led mast-mounted camera system capable of taking 3D images and videos.

They went to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix to better understand climate-geography connections. They conducted experiments with electricity, learned about mosquitoes and bees, and took a trip to Midwestern University's veterinary school in Glendale.

"The main outcome that we’re hoping for is to get them excited about STEM careers," said Gilberto Lopez, an assistant professor in ASU’s School of Transborder Studies.

Additionally, the academy provides instruction on navigating college entrance requirements or determining whether attending junior college is suitable.

"I came from this community (migrant farmworkers), and your world is very limited," Lopez said. "Maybe someone in your family has finished high school but no one has gone to college. It’s a world that just doesn’t exist. No one even knows how to direct you. So we want to make sure that they at least know there’s something out there for them."

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Renee Cardoza Leon attended an online version of the academy in 2021 while she was a student at Gila Ridge High School in Yuma; still, it changed her life.

"Before I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do; I had no idea," said Leon, now an ASU sophomore majoring in computer science with a concentration in software engineering. "I thought I was just going to play it safe and get a job out of high school or go to community college."

"It opened my eyes about going to ASU and getting a career,” she added.

Kimberly Flores, currently a junior at Yuma High School who participated this year’s camp stated that it made her reconsider her career options although she has long desired being psychologist after visiting Midwestern University’s veterinarian school meeting horse named Tilly considering taking care animals instead noting “their eyes have been opened.”

Hernández emphasized perseverance when addressing students explaining he rejected eleven times before selected part NASA astronauts class 2004 eventually serving mission specialist board space shuttle Discovery five years later adding “you enjoy journey destination” elaborating how important enjoyment pursuit professional goals listing five ingredients success father shared: define purpose recognize current position create roadmap prepare accordingly develop unparalleled work ethic noting sometimes minimum requirements insufficient competing against many others meet those standards challenging audience ask themselves next steps required succeed aspiring empower attendees questioning why can't achieve similar accomplishments

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