By Elise Nam, Alliance Intern from Barnard College ‘24
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, CBS Mornings’ Note to Self featured José Hernández. When asking children “what you want to be when you grow up,” many respond with a classic answer — an astronaut — though most do not pursue. Most children of migrants don’t have the luxury to entertain such an idea. Yet José Hernández defied all odds, and stands as an inspiring example of a migrant farmworker turned astronaut. Hernández was rejected from NASA 11 times and was selected in May 2004 on his twelfth try.
Hernández shares a profound quote about humanity and the environment: “Space will impart two enduring revelations. Not being able to determine where one country ends and another begins strikes me. From your vantage point, humanity is a singular race — united. Additionally, in one particular sunrise you watch the sun ascend from Earth’s horizon. Its rays reveal the very thin and fragile atmosphere. This moment will galvanize you into an environmental advocate.”
Hernández wrote an autobiography in 2012, Reaching for the Stars: The Inspiring Story of a Migrant Farmworker Turned Astronaut. In September 2023, a film was released which “follows the real story of how José Moreno Hernández (played by Michael Peña) − who spent much of childhood laboring the fields with his family of migrant farmworkers − became a NASA astronaut,” writes Yahoo. The film, A Million Miles Away, is now streaming on Amazon Prime.