Do you believe in the power of dreams?
From migrant workers to astronauts, he did it.
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Star-picking tour for immigrant children
Jose S. José M. Hernández is one of the few Latino astronauts at NASA.
Step by step, it is quite difficult.
As a child, Jose's family moved to California from Mexico.
Leaving home, my father's wish is to earn enough money to return to his hometown and build a big house.
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From an early age, José worked with other farm workers.
Helping their parents pick grapes, blueberries and break corn, the family makes a living.
While harvesting their crops, they moved from town to town on farms.
While other kids look forward to summer vacation, Jose Jr. hates it.
Because summer vacation means working in the fields 7 days a week.
He changed schools and didn't learn to speak English until he was 12.
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A life-changing teacher's home visit
At school, José was ridiculed by his classmates because of his accent.
Until I met Teacher Yang.
She saw that the child, although often absent from school, had an amazing talent for mathematics.
In class, she asked the children in the class, do you know how much 7 times 63 equals?
Jose quickly figured out the correct answer.
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As Teacher Yang communicates more with Jose, she learns about the child's hidden dreams.
Watching TV Apollo lifts off, he is fascinated by stars and space.
And I have a big dream in my heart: to become an astronaut.
Teacher Yang decided to talk to his parents.
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Non-stop work, work, work.
I want to persuade parents who are struggling to make ends meet and settle in a place where their children can receive a good education.
Sounds like a fantasy.
Teacher Yang actually convinced Jose's parents.
The family decided to stay in Stockton and not move in California and Mexico.
"It was a very big moment in Jose's life that changed everything."
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The love of his wife, and the vital support of relatives and friends
After talking with Teacher Yang, the enlightened father made a quick decision, and the hometown building plan was postponed, and he fully supported his son's education.
After his family settled down and put down roots, Jose made leaps and bounds academically.
Soon, he graduated from high school and entered college, eventually earning a master's degree in electrical and computer engineering from UCSB.
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He met the love of his life and started his own small family.
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From 1990 to 2004, Jose worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California.
On the first day of work, there was a big oolong, which was mistaken by the front desk for a cleaning worker.
As a minority, his colleagues and leaders didn't take him too seriously at first, but he just mustered up enough energy to prove his abilities.
Later, he and a colleague developed the first full-field digital mammography imaging system to help detect breast cancer early.
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Nearly 40 years old, career and family are relatively stable, but Jose is unwilling.
He has never forgotten his childhood dream of space.
He has been quietly applying to NASA for years, but has been rejected several times.
The wife accidentally broke the letter of rejection and learned about it.
She didn't understand it at first, but she was quickly relieved and decided to fully support her husband.
The little couple took out the savings they had planned to save for his wife's restaurant, and Jose went to practice diving, flying planes, and learning Russian after work, constantly improving his strength.
It is not easy for a wife to take care of 5 children alone.
The picture is from CNN, and the copyright belongs to the original author
But the reality was cruel, and the result disappointed him again and again.
Jose sometimes goes to the farm to talk to his childhood friends.
The brother encouraged him, "No one knows better than a farm worker what it's like to go to an unfamiliar environment, and I'm sure you can." ”
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The refusal did not stop him.
He decided to give it a go and went to NASA to offer himself.
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After 11 applications were rejected, he was finally selected.
42 years old, selected for NASA!
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It's time to make good on your promise to your wife.
Finally, outside the gates of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, the family owns a Mexican restaurant called Tierra Luna.
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After training every day, Jose will come as a kitchen helper or a waiter.
This restaurant has also become a frequent place for NASA astronauts and scientists.
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On August 29, 2009, 47-year-old Jose was finally about to go into space.
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Before leaving, my childhood mentor, Teacher Yang, came to visit.
She also keeps the rocket that José drew as a child and witnesses him finally realize his dream of being an astronaut.
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"Teacher Yang sat next to my parents and witnessed the whole launch, and I am very proud of that."
Jose traveled 14 days in space as a crew member of the Space Shuttle Discovery.
The shuttle eventually landed in California, about 80 miles from where he picked strawberries as a child.
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The trip made him the first migrant farm worker by birth to travel to space.
The image is from NBC, and the copyright belongs to the original author
After retiring, he returned to California.
The children grew up and he ran his own vineyard with his wife.
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José still picks grapes with his father.
Except, this time in their own vineyard:
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A seed, a seed that has come true after many years.
If you have a dream, chase it, Jose's life is quite legendary.