“I would say family and part of that ‘first-gen experience’ [shaped me]. Being born in the U.S. gave me a lot of opportunities that my family and parents were robbed of because of situations in their home country. It shaped me to be a hard worker and to aspire to large things because not only was it my goal at this point, but it was also my parents’ aspiration.
“I feel that a lot of their pride comes from their kids. That pushes me to be a better employee or to want to do better for myself because I know that they’ve made a lot of sacrifices for me while I was building up to becoming an engineer. Now that I’ve accomplished my goal, it’s very important for me to always thank them and be a grateful person.
“Culture also shaped me. Coming from a minority background, and I’m only familiar with the Hispanic culture, it was an education-first mindset…and very supportive. I think that’s important. When I do outreach, I always like to share my experiences because sometimes, people don’t realize how much impact they can have, like the teacher who told me about [a NASA] internship. She didn’t know that was going to be my career. Or, my mom staying up with me during late night study sessions when I was like, ‘I can’t be an engineer’ and failed a test and she was like, ‘No, you can do it. I believe in you.’
“It might not be memorable for the person who [says it], but it was super important for my motivation to keep going. So, [online, I am that voice for] first-gen motivation.”
– Zaida Hernandez, Engineer, Lunar Architecture Team, NASA Johnson Space Center
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Stafford
Interviewer: NASA/Tahira Allen