Concord students meet out-of-this-world visitor

  • 2018-02-08
Recently, Jose M. Hernandez, a former astronaut, spoke to students at Concord High School, delivering a message of hope and inspiration.

Among the thoughts he shared with the students was one he has in common with former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: never give up.

Hernandez, a native of California, was born to immigrant farm workers, and spent summers and weekends in the fields, picking crops. He decided he wanted to be an astronaut in 1972, when he was 10 years old and watched Eugene Cernan walk on the moon. Cernan was the last astronaut to set foot on the moon's surface, as part of the Apollo 17 mission. Hernandez watched as Walter Cronkite narrated the event, and knew what he wanted to do with his life.

Although Hernandez expected his father to discourage his dream to join NASA, he encouraged him, and gave him what Hernandez refers to as “five ingredients” to succeed. First, he told his son to decide what he wanted to do with his life, realize how much he had to do to get to his goal, figure out the steps to get there, get an education, and finally, work hard.

Hernandez added an ingredient of his own: perseverance. It took him 11 tries before NASA accepted him, and he spent 14 days on the International Space Station in 2009.

Organizers of this type of event can make it more enjoyable by working with a brochure printing company to create a biographical booklet about the speaker.