By Larry Urish, contributing writer
A source of many life-affirming benefits, a quality education can inspire students to succeed, providing them with a clear sense of purpose. As German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said: “If you give a man a ‘why,’ he’ll always figure out a ‘how.’ ”
One starry night in 1972, 10-year-old José Hernández found his “why.” And all he had to do was gaze toward the heavens.
Throughout his childhood, young José traveled with his migrant farm-worker family throughout Central California, performing backbreaking labor. However, through decades of hard work, focus and persistence, the dirt-poor farm laborer became a space traveler. Today, retired NASA astronaut José Hernández ’s main purpose in life is simple: “To inspire, to help people reach their maximum potential in whatever they do.”
Hernández ’s visit to Santiago Canyon College on March 27, presented by SCC’s STEM Success Team and its College Assistance Migrant Program, included a screening of “A Million Miles Away,” the feature film based on Hernández ’s life, as well as his evening talk about his journey from the farm fields into outer space.
Along with his stargazing, Hernández was originally inspired by his love of “Star Trek” and his fascination with NASA’s 1972 Apollo 17 lunar mission. However, twinkling stars, Captain Kirk and moon milestones could take a poor farm worker only so far. Reaching his lofty goal was a daunting task. “I didn’t do this alone,” Hernández continually emphasized. “It involved a lot of people. … My mother taught (my siblings and me) good work ethics and study habits, and my father made us realize that school was a priority. He’d often gesture to the fields and say, ‘This is your future unless you get an education.””
His father, Salvador, also provided the Hernández children with his five-step “recipe to success”: “Define your purpose in life,” José Hernández related. “Recognize how far you are from that purpose. Draw yourself a road map from where you are to where you want to go. Prepare yourself according to the challenge. And develop a work ethic that’s second to none.”
Hernández earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of the Pacific and later garnered a master’s in signals and systems engineering from UC Santa Barbara. Hernández worked for 15 years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, starting in 1987. During his tenure there, he helped develop the X-ray laser technology used in President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, nicknamed “Star Wars.” He and a colleague later applied this technology for use in the early detection of breast cancer, which has saved many lives.
“That is my proudest professional moment,” Hernández said of the digital mammography technology. “It’s a greater accomplishment than even going into space.”
Going into space, however, remained an elusive dream. Hernández applied to NASA’s Astronaut Candidate program on 11 occasions — and was rejected each time — before he was finally accepted in May 2004. “The 12th time was a charm,” he quipped.
This persistence points to his own sixth “ingredient,” added to his father’s five-step recipe to success: “Persevere. Never give up on yourself.”
Again emphasizing how his success wasn’t a solo effort, Hernández explained how one day he crumpled up his sixth NASA rejection letter and tossed it toward a wastebasket. “My wife found the crumpled letter, because I missed the garbage can, and she encouraged me to persist,” Hernández said.
Had the tossed rejection letter made it into the wastebasket, he said, “She would’ve thrown the letter out, and I would’ve given up. … My wife was critical. She was a cheerleader throughout the whole process.”
After years of rigorous training, Hernández’s lifelong dream was realized on Aug. 28, 2009, when he and his STS-128 crewmates aboard Space Shuttle Discovery blasted into orbit and docked with the International Space Station.
Blasted, indeed. “We went from zero to 17,500 miles per hour in 8½ minutes,” Hernández told his Santiago Canyon College audience. Over the course of 14 days, he and his NASA compatriots transferred 7 tons of new equipment to the ISS and orbited Earth 217 times, traveling more than 5.7 million miles.
Although he retired from NASA in January 2011, Hernández is anything but the retiring type. He noted that, in addition to being a governor-appointed member of the University of California Board of Regents, he’s the founder and CEO of Tierra Luna Engineering, author of three books — including his 2012 memoir, “Reaching for the Stars” — and owner of Tierra Luna Cellars vineyard and winery. And, as hundreds at his SCC visit last month will attest, he’s also a supremely effective motivational speaker.
“It’s OK to dream big,” Hernández stressed to the audience as he wrapped up his talk. “With education and hard work, you can reach the stars. I’m living proof of that.”
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