NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez visits Menlo Park City School District campuses
Menlo Park City School District students were inspired by special guest NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez as he visited every district school on Tuesday, September 10, 2024 to share his journey of perseverance.
MPCSD begins the school year with its new vision, “educating and empowering students while embracing childhood and adolescence.” To empower students to see themselves as scientists, the district launched a year-long initiative to bring speakers and experiences to every student that will encourage an interest in scientific pursuits, thinking, and potential careers.
The Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation raised money specifically for this initiative at its Spring 2024 auction, and the annual One Community Campaign, which is currently ongoing, will help support additional activities and events throughout the year.
Dr. Hernandez spoke about his childhood as part of a migrant farming family that moved every three months following crops up and down California. He and his three siblings worked in the fields alongside their parents every weekend, and seven days a week during summer. He connected with students by talking about his second grade teacher who made a life-changing impact on his education when she convinced the family to put down roots, which they did in Stockton and which Dr. Hernandez credits as the beginning of his blossoming into a strong student and becoming proficient in English.
As a fifth grader he saw through his black and white TV set, narrated by Walter Cronkite, astronaut Gene Cernan walk on the moon. Running outside and looking at the distant moon in the cool night sky, young Jose dreamt in that instant of becoming an astronaut himself. Despite his challenging circumstances, his family’s encouragement set Hernandez on the path to fulfilling this unlikely dream.
Dr. Hernandez spoke of his 11 rejections to the NASA astronaut program, and the key moments that propelled him to persevere. To enhance his chances, he learned to fly, became SCUBA certified, and learned Russian as part of a challenging work project. His persistence paid off when he was admitted into the 19th Class of NASA astronauts and ultimately served as the flight engineer on Space Shuttle mission STS-128 in 2009.
It was clear that students appreciated hearing from Dr. Hernandez as they cheered throughout the presentation and then crowded around him for selfies and autographs after each presentation. His message to these young potential scientists is to dream big, make a plan, believe in yourself and then be prepared to work hard and persevere to make it happen.
